


Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind

by MalevolentReverie



Series: Chwolson Ring [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 1947, 1960s, A/B/O Vibes, Alien Abduction, Alien Biology, Alien Character(s), Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Culture, Alien Sex, Alien Technology, Alien/Human Relationships, Aliens, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Brainwashing, But He Used The Tentacle, Communication Failure, Complete, Crash Landing, Don't Get Drunk And Shoot A Gun In The Middle Of The Night, Dubious Consent, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Extremely Dubious Consent, F/M, Fluff, Go With Christ, He Got A Dick Tho, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Hypnotism, Knotting, Masturbation, Mating, Mating Rituals, Mild Blood, New Mexico, No underage, Nonverbal Communication, Not When Rey Is A Kid, POV First Person, POV Rey (Star Wars), Period Typical Attitudes, Possessive Kylo Ren, Post-World War II, Roswell, Science Fiction, Shameless Smut, Shapeshifting, Soulmates, Suspense, Tentacle Rape, Tentacle Sex, The Force, The Roswell Incident, Then We Expect That From You, Time Skips, U.S. 1960, US 1947, Unless You're From Texas, Weird Fluff, area 51, for i have sinned, forgive me father, tentacle knotting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-05-18 02:09:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14843588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalevolentReverie/pseuds/MalevolentReverie
Summary: Seven-year-old Rey discovers a strange man dressed in black who crash-landed in the cornfield behind her farmhouse and names him Ben. They can't communicate well, but he refuses to leave her side until she's forced to move away for over a decade. Upon her return, they avoid intrusive federal agents, conspiracy theorists, and nosy neighbors, and Rey isn't sure who the real monster is living in Roswell, New Mexico.





	1. Meteor

**Author's Note:**

> need me a lil sci fi

One fateful night, bright red fire lights up the black sky over my house.

I scramble out of my small, creaky bed and pad to the window in my white nightgown to watch. My radio plays quietly in the corner of my bedroom as I cling to the cracked window ledge and cock my head at the strange object flying through the sky. It’s a cool, clear night in New Mexico. A breeze tickles my scalp and chills my sweat. I’m not sure what I’m looking at.

Naturally, I gotta go look. I rush to my bedroom door to slip into my hole-ridden brown dress shoes and grab my jacket. Unkar is snoring like a train from his bedroom down the hall so I know I won’t be caught when I sneak out my window.

I climb the frame, picking up slivers along the way, and shove the window open. It swings wide with a groan and a weird sensation prickles up my back, like bugs are scurrying up my skin. I shiver in the chilly night and slip onto the roof of Unkar’s farmhouse just as the weird flying object crashes in a corn field.

I’ve snuck out so many times that I had to patch some parts of the leaky roof. I hop over the weak spots and slide down a low part to an open cart of hay, landing with an ‘oomph’ and a wince. But I clamber out and dust off while running towards the smoking crash site.

Crickets chirp and the corn stalks hiss as I race through them. I’m seven and small, so I can slither between ‘em like a snake. The moonlight fades with each stalk I run past until the sharp smell of smoke and fire hits my nose like a well-placed punch. I wince and slow down, stepping carefully into the glowing flicker of flames, heart pounding and eyes wide.

It’s a twisted, melted mess of metal. The fire flares and burps black smoke into the sky, and shimmery green liquid flows across the dirt. I edge closer, curious, but jerk back when I see a tall man emerge from the other side of the wreckage.

He clutches his head with a low groan and falls on his knees in the dirt. His hair is black, braided along the top and pulled in a ponytail, and he has a weird, long face with a big nose. I know he’s hurt and I don’t like seeing people in pain, so I pick along the edge of the crash and approach with much less caution than I should. If he’s hurt, I need to help him.

 “…Hello?” I venture. “Are you okay, sir?”

The man is dressed in all black. His getup looks like a dress, and the only skin I can see is on his face. Dark, angry eyes flicker to me and the stranger reaches out long, gloved fingers towards me.

Nothing happens. I tilt my head and watch him get irritated as he keeps clawing at the air like he’s expecting me to react. Okay… Maybe I won’t help him. When I withdraw into the corn, the man looks really confused and opens his mouth to talk.

Bizarre, high-pitched clicking and buzzing sounds come out of his mouth and make my head feel like it’s going to explode. I shriek in pain and cover my ears, staggering away from him, and he quickly snaps his jaw shut and waves his hands like he’s trying to apologize. I squint at him through the darkness. Maybe he’s a Soviet. Unkar warns me about them all the time—he says they’re dangerous.

A siren wails through the night from the nearby Air Force base. Both the stranger and I look towards the sound in fear. I know the planes will fly over the farm soon, and soldiers may show up.

The man gives me a pleading look, like he’s desperate, and I back up into the cornfield. If Unkar wakes up and finds me out of bed, I’m in huge trouble.

 “Come on!” I whisper. “Hurry!”

We run through the cornfield. I’m faster than the stranger and I irately grab his gloved hand when he doesn’t keep up like I want him to. He stumbles along behind me and I hear the first plane howl overhead to investigate the place where the man crash-landed. They must be worried to get a pilot out so fast. They’ll come to the farm.

The field gives way to Unkar’s small backyard and I drag the man along to the edge of the house. Our goats are awake, bleating and confused, and my cow Petunia lows from her pen.

 “Shut up, Petunia!” I hiss.

I struggle to jump for the low edge of the roof and feel strong hands around my ribs, lifting me to the ledge. The man smiles faintly, and I smile back as I grab the edge and hoist myself up. He follows behind and we sneak along the roof to my bedroom window. Strobe lights from the planes have the wreckage lit up in the middle of the field and I can hear Unkar hollering downstairs.

The man shoves me through the window when I get caught and I collapse in a pile on the floor. He pushes through the gap and looks around my room before deciding to hide in the closet. I scramble into my bed, the closet door shuts, and my bedroom door bangs open.

Unkar stomps in, fat face red with fury. “GIRL! I TOLD Y—” He sees me in bed and blinks, spittle dribbling down his jowls. “…Oh. You’re in bed. Good.”

 “Of course,” I chirp. I smile. “Did you hear the planes?”

My ‘guardian’ wanders around my tiny bedroom to check everything. He rattles the closet door and I frown when he can’t open it. But he’s still hungover and the downstairs doorbell rings, so he storms off to answer it and slams my bedroom door behind him.

I heave a sigh. “Whew, that was close.” Then I slip out of bed and patter over to the closet, biting my lower lip. “Um… sir, are you okay?”

I’m not sure why, but I’m not afraid of him. The door clicks open and I see a dark eye blink at me through the darkness, studying my smiling face. His gaze turns downward, and a long arm reaches into the room with his gloved palm turned upward. It’s smeared with blood. I frown and tug it off.

Glass is buried in his skin, shiny and flecked bright red. I wince at the sight and sit on the floor, pulling his wrist to make him sit, too. But he stays in the shadows like he’s afraid of the light and watches me pick each shard out and make a little pile next to my crossed legs on the floor. I’ve done it a bunch of times—my feet have tons of scars from broken glass.

 “Do you speak English?” I ask. “I can. I don’t read or write very well, though.”

He shakes his head. Could’ve guessed that from his awful voice. I shrug and hold his enormous hand in both of mine and we lapse into silence while I pull out the rest of the shards. He doesn’t flinch.

I take out every piece I can and fetch bandages and salve to clean the cuts. When I come back, the man is waving his hand and the glass dances on the floor into a neat bloody pile. I scowl and sit in front of him, roughly yanking his wrist to finish fixing his injury.

 “Looks like you could fix your own cuts,” I say tersely. I wipe off the blood and bind the cut tight.

He smiles, sheepish, and shrugs. I tape the gauze and chuck his glove in the closet. He mutters, voice deep and ominous, and when I turn I see his ears are tinged red.

I hesitate. “…How did you do that? Move the glass without touching it?”

The man’s lips wriggle, like he’s nervous, and he stretches his long fingers out to pull a rock I found across the room in the blink of an eye. It smacks into his palm and he shows it to me, then tries to make the same motion in my direction. I cock my head and stare as his eyebrows draw together in focus. Then he shrugs again like it should’ve answered my question.

 “…Right,” I mutter. “Well, I’m going to bed.” I point at him, narrowing my eyes. “Don’t do anything funny. What’s your name, anyway?”

His mouth opens, and the same painful clicks and warbles come out. I shake my head quickly and he covers his mouth with one bandaged hand and his gloved one.

 “Stop talking!” I snap. “I’m calling you Ben, I guess—like Benny Hill. Have you heard him?”

Ben shakes his head. I roll my eyes and turn to walk away when I feel a weird tug in my chest. It’s like my heart skipped a beat. I frown and look back at Ben.

He has his temple leaned on the closet frame, pale face watching me through the darkness. He smiles and removes his other glove to wave and I awkwardly wave back. I climb into bed while Unkar talks with the soldiers loudly downstairs, and Ben hovers near the closet door and stares at me. His dark eyes suddenly flash bright blue.

I point at him, nervous. “No funny stuff.”

Ben nods fast, drawing into the closet and shutting the door. I stare for a while before giving in to my sleepiness, rolling on my side and drifting off to sleep.


	2. Nebula

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :o  
> also rey uses the phrase 'queen' as an insult - don't forget this is 1947 in the boonies

Ben is right beside my bed when I wake up in the morning—staring at me.

I squeal in terror and beat him over the head with an extra pillow, making him collapse on his side on the floor and curl into a ball. He scrambles away and throws the pillow with his strange power. I glare at him and be blinks back at me like he didn’t do anything wrong. His dark eyes turn blue again, sparkly and bright like sunlight on a lake. It looks like the sky at night in the middle of summer. A galaxy.

It’s weird. I know he’s not like me.

Ben watches me fetch my overalls and flowery t-shirt from the closet. I always start my chores early while Unkar is still out combing town for more junk to sell. Petunia needs breakfast and her stall has to be mucked, the goats need food, the chickens need seed… lots to do before the sun comes up.

I walk down the hall to the bathroom and slam the door in Ben’s face. He raps politely on the door while I turn on the rattling shower and avoid cracked tiles. I try to clean the bathtub, but it’s rusty and grimy no matter how much I scrub. Unkar doesn’t care. He’s usually out drinking or collecting scrap metal.

Ben knocks the entire time I take to get dressed. I pull my hair in three buns and kick the door open when I’m done. He gets knocked on his butt but hops up to follow me down the hall, stumbling back when I spin around and poke his chest.

I arch on my tiptoes. “Don’t you have somewhere to be, pal? I’m busy.”

He shakes his head quickly. I scowl and size up his black clothes. He sure doesn’t dress like a normal guy… It’s way too hot for gloves, and why is he wearing a dress? Seems like a queen to me.

 “Come on,” I mutter, dragging him towards Unkar’s room. “You need to dress right or the neighbors will think you’re some European weirdo. Did you fight in the War? _My_ dad died when they stormed Normandy, y’know. We never met, but that’s what Unkar told me.”

Ben has no idea about World War II. He listens to me chatter about it, from Hitler to the Jews to Auschwitz, and frowns at the tattered clothes I pull out of Unkar’s closet. Awfully picky for a queen. I hold up a few things until I find a blue flannel that’s just a bit too big on Ben. He puts it on, along with a pair of jeans that were too small for Unkar, and an old pair of boots.

We go outside and I put on my straw hat hanging by the door. Ben holds his up and makes a face but hurriedly puts it on when I shoot him another glare.

 “You have to earn your keep,” I drawl, heading for Petunia’s stall first. “All the animals need to be cleaned up and fed, then we have to check the garden for veggies, and get dinner ready for Unkar.”

Ben nods. He keeps looking at me like he’s confused.

His weird ability comes in handy: he sweeps up all the grime in Petunia’s stall and chucks it in the compost pile. Normally it takes me an hour to do, but I stand and watch Ben wave his hand and layer her stall with fresh hay. Petunia lows from the field, flicking her tail to keep the flies off.

Ben cleans all the stalls the same way while I fill the food bowls and get fresh water from the well. He picks peppers, onions, and tomatoes the same way, casually flicking his wrist to drop them in the basket in my arms. I smile up at him and she smiles back. What a neat power. Unkar will probably call it witchcraft—he thinks everything’s witchcraft.

We finish well before the hottest part of the day and I bring Ben inside for an early lunch. He sits at the rickety kitchen table, watching me put together chicken sandwiches with cut-up hardboiled eggs. I pour us glasses of lemonade and climb into the chair next to Ben to dig in.

He lifts the edge of his bread, cocking his head. I scowl. I hate when people are picky eaters. There’s only so much food and wasting it is—

Ben opens his mouth and I see it’s lined with triangular, sharp teeth. He eats the eggs and chicken in the blink of an eye but leaves everything else untouched. I stare at him, blinking fast. He licks his lips in the dramatic way the barn cat does after she eats something she really likes.

 “…Don’t like your vegetables?” I ask, chewing my sandwich. “They’re good for you.” I suck my fingers and hop out of my chair to visit the fridge. “I can make more hardboiled eggs if you want.”

Suddenly, Ben’s looming behind me. He pops open the egg holder and I gag when he throws raw eggs in his mouth like they’re candy. He chews them, shell and all, yolk dribbling down his chin. His eyes are bright blue again, swirling like a cloud. I cock my head and stare at them. They’re awfully pretty.

He pauses and turns his gaze on me, cheeks full of crunched up eggs. I keep staring into his eyes and feel the tug in my ribs again, like I’m supposed to be closer to him. My mind spins. So… beautiful…

Someone knocks on the door.

I snap out of it and teeter away from Ben. He goes right back to eating all my eggs and paws through the fridge for chicken, too. Annoyed, I hurry to open the door while yelling at him over my shoulder.

Miss Leia peers inside, our neighbor from a quarter mile away. I wave, beaming, and she locks on to Ben gorging himself on all the meat in the fridge. She grabs me and holds me against her. She has a basket with muffins, like usual on Sundays. I sneak a blueberry one out as Ben’s head snaps around to look at her. Blood drips from his chin. His passive face twists into an angry scowl.

 “Who is this, Rey?” Miss Leia asks nervously.

I talk with my mouth full of muffin. “Ben! Found him in the cornfield last night. Don’t worry—he helped me with my chores this morning so he’s earning his keep.” Then I throw a muffin at his face. “Quit eating all the meat, ya jerk!”

Leia jerks back when Ben stands up. He blinks and reaches out a hand.

The basket rips from Miss Leia’s arms and flies straight to him. I gasp, offended by how rude he is, and wriggle away from her, storming over to Ben to demand he share. He holds the basket out of my reach and smiles at me dancing around and jumping for it. No manners!

Miss Leia takes a step toward us. “Rey, sweetie—”

Ben flicks his wrist and she’s thrown out the door. It slams shut and I give up on getting the muffins back to let Leia back in. Every time I open it, Ben slams it shut again, and when I glare at him over my shoulder he’s smirking at me. He blinks innocently and lets the door open.

Miss Leia bustles inside and wraps her arms around me again, backing out of the house. “Let’s go have lunch at my house, Rey. I’ll call the sheriff and he can help your friend find his way back to _his_ house.”

 “I dunno,” I grumble, “looks like his house blew up in the cornfield.”

Ben glares at Leia’s arms around me and finally drops the basket on the floor, spilling the muffins. I yell at him for wasting food and yank away from Miss Leia again to pick them all up and put them back in the pretty wicker basket. Ben grabs the back of my shirt when I’m done and pulls me into a hug. He sinks to the floor, clicking his teeth with his mouth closed, and locks his long limbs around me.

I grunt, squirming. “Hey! Let go!”

Leia steps toward us, fuming. “Sir, I can call Sheriff Dameron if you need more encouragement to get out of this house.”

The name makes Ben perk up. He starts to get up, then remembers he still has me and reluctantly lets go. I scramble after him as he leaves the house, ignoring Leia’s pleading for me to stop, and catch up to him at the bottom of the stairs. He tugs my hand and opens his mouth to talk, then remembers we can’t speak to each other and huffs irately.

 “You want to see the Sheriff?” I ask, and he nods fast. “Okay—he’s in town a few miles away, so let’s give him a call and have him come here.”

Ben shakes his head and scowls when Miss Leia comes out of the house. He scoops me up and walks off with her chasing us and hollering. I wrap my arms around his neck and wave to her.

Along the way, I lean back in Ben’s arms and wipe off his face as best as I can. When I’m done, a long, rough pink tongue worms out of his mouth and wraps around my wrist to lick the dry egg off my palm. It splits into three more smaller tongues at the end and they tickle my skin. Small holes line it and open like they’re breathing. He cleans off my hand and his tongue slips back in his mouth.

 “That’s gross,” I say matter-of-factly. “Have you had a doctor look at that?”

Ben raises an eyebrow and opens his mouth, showing off his sharp triangular teeth, and nods at me. I open mine and click my square teeth together. They’re off-white and I have a few cavities. I stick out my tongue and this time, he makes a grossed-out face.

I huff, indignant. “Fine!” I bury my face under his chin to pout.

We move much faster than normal. It feels like Ben glides across the ground. I peek out of my snit fit to watch the other farms pass by, cows swishing their tails and horses wandering about eating grass. Stray chickens hover at the edges of the road. A thick canopy of trees signals that we’re close to town, dappling us in dry sunshine and cool shade, and I shift in Ben’s arms.

 “The station is close,” I chirp. “Poe is my best friend, so I go to his house all the time and see his mommy and daddy.”

Ben nods. He nuzzles the side of my head.

Niima is a small town. I wave to passersby who stare at Ben, maybe seeing something about him that I can’t. He walks right up to the police station and sets me down, fretting over my messy hair, so I slap his hands away and walk inside without saying a word.

Poe is sitting in a spinning chair while his dad, Kes, is on the phone. The station is small, with an overhead fan whirring above us and two desks. One is for Kes and the other is for his deputy, Amilyn Holdo. The floor is cracked and the windows dusty. It's an old building.

Poe’s dark eyes fall on me and he hops up, beaming. I’m sure he thinks I want to play, but I’m here on important business.

 “Hey, Rey!” Poe hugs me and I hug back as hard as I can. “Wanna go fishing?”

 “Can’t—Ben needs my help.” I stand tall and proud and gesture to my new friend. “See? Fell clear outta the sky. Can’t talk, either.”

Poe gives me the amazed reaction I want. He circles Ben, scratching his dark curly hair, and cocks his head. Ben cocks his head, too, eyeing Poe curiously.

 “Hey there, Rey. Who’s your friend?”

Sheriff Dameron, who Leia calls Kes, stands up and puts his hand on top of Poe’s head. Poe grins when his dad ruffles his hair and I feel a pang of jealousy. I slip my fingers in Ben’s hand and when I look up, he’s staring right at Kes. Ben blinks, and his eyes turn bright, swirling blue again.

The sheriff’s smile disappears. His throat bobs, and he pats Poe’s back.

 “Why don’t you kids go play?” he suggests. “Good time for a swim in the river. That little boy Finn is probably lookin’ for a friend to play with, too.”

 “’Kay, dad.” Poe takes my hand and tugs me towards the door, smiling like always. “Come on—dad showed me a cool way to catch catfish. You stick your arm in their den and they bite down—but it doesn’t hurt, don’t worry—and you drag ‘em out!”

I frown and look over my shoulder seconds before the door closes. Kes blinks, and his dark eyes change to the same bright blue as Ben’s.


	3. Plasma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heeeheheheh

We walk down to the river together and meet Finn halfway there. He’s out playing with his dog, Tundra, and waves fast when he sees Poe and me. We wave back and talk over each other on our way to the river. Tundra barks and prances in circles. Finn says he’s a wolf dog and I think that’s the coolest thing ever.

Poe grabs Finn’s hand when we’re hidden by the trees and I roll my eyes. Finn gets all red in the face like always, but Poe’s never embarrassed about it. They walk along behind me while I chase Tundra.

 “Don’t be a girl, Rey,” Poe drawls when we reach the riverbank.

 “Same to you!” I retort.

It’s a pretty, sunny day. Tundra plunges into the water and we yell at him to get out before he scares all the catfish away. Finn’s nervous about sticking his hand in a fish’s mouth so he sits on the muddy bank to watch us. I roll up my pants to my knees and wade in while Poe gets butt naked and splashes his way in.

I scowl. “Excuse me! You’re in the presence of a _lady!_ ”

 “I don’t see any ladies around here.” Poe spits a mouthful of water at me, swimming and grinning.

Poe and I are always competing while Finn sits on the sidelines and begs us to cut it out. I puff up angrily and wade back to shore to strip naked just like Poe. Finn groans and covers his face while Poe jeers and laughs. I stomp back in and clamber on Poe’s back to shove his head underwater.

He’s a year older than me, but I’m scrappy. We roll around in the water for a long time, yelping and wrestling. Tundra chases some frogs and eats a couple of them. Finn lies back to look up at the sky and just sighs.

We play until we’re both panting and can’t even think of catching catfish. Finn keeps his face covered as Poe collapses next to him, skin all shiny and wet, and I lay on the other side of Finn. Bugs buzz. Tundra wanders over to sniff our faces, whining unsurely.

The sun soaks up most of the water and I doze off in the grass, happy with my friends and lazy from my swim. Finn threads his fingers through mine and I yawn and turn on my side to curl closer to him. Unkar Plutt is a jerk, but I love my two best friends.

I nuzzle into Finn’s warm skin. Poe and I like roughhousing, but Finn likes the quiet and calm. He keeps us from beating the life out of each other. He’s shy, like his mom, so Poe and I get him into plenty of trouble. Finn’s daddy died in the War and he gets real nervous about doing fun, dangerous stuff.

Twigs snap behind us and we all crane our necks to look at the trees.

Ben is there with a full knapsack over his arm. His dark eyes have a wide, alarmed shine to them as he looks between the three of us cuddling. Uh oh.

I scramble up first. I’m a girl; I know I’m not supposed to be naked around boys. Ben peels his red plaid shirt off in record time and wraps it around me. His eyes zero in on Finn and Poe’s laced fingers. Ugh, it’s just Finn and Poe! They’re both so lame they could pass for girls, too!

 “Please don’t tell!” I plead, shimmying into my underwear. “We were just swimming and—”

Tundra bounds up, snarling and barking at Ben. Finn hurries to shut the dog up but Ben steps toward Tundra and his eyes turn bright blue. A second passes and Tundra whimpers and backs away.

Ben hisses and clicks like he’s mad. He helps me into my overalls and throws me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I blink in surprise as we storm off from Finn and Poe without another word. They wave nervously and I give a tense wave back.

Ben doesn’t say anything. I cling to his undershirt, bouncing while we walk, and chew the inside of my cheek. He’s going to tell Kes and get all of us in trouble—me for being naked, and Finn and Poe for holding hands. Everyone will talk if they know the sheriff’s son holds hands with a colored boy.

We don’t talk until we’re out of town. Ben sets me on my feet and clenches his jaw. He has his black hair in a bun, some strands dangling around his big ears.

I grasp three of his fingers in my hand. “…I’m sorry. They’re my best friends. We weren’t _kissing_ or anything.” I retch at the thought. Sick.

Ben’s ears twitch and he stops with me under the shade of a yew tree. He sighs like he’s relieved and pats the top of my head, drawing a smile from me. His shirt is huge under my overalls and the sleeves drape way over my hands as I throw them around his hips in a hug. He staggers and pats my head again.

 “I’m not a dog,” I mutter. “Hug me back, ya jerk.”

He mutters too, but awkwardly wraps his long arms around me in a hug. Kind of. I huff, annoyed by how weird he is, and trot down the road towards home again. Ben hurries after me.

Unkar isn’t home when we get back. I rush Ben inside and he shows me some stuff Kes gave him: fresh chicken and eggs! Thank goodness. I put everything away and shoo Ben upstairs while I make soup for dinner. Unkar won’t be happy if he sees Ben.

My foster dad comes home while I’m eating my dinner. I smile and he grunts, opening the fridge to help himself. He smells like beer but doesn’t bug me. I watch him take the whole container of soup out in the living room and plop on the couch to eat it cold. He’s got a few half-empty beers to drink.

I skip upstairs to hang out with Ben in my bedroom. Kes gave him some more clothes and I kind of want to make him do a fashion show. I whistle all the way into my bedroom and find a strange sight.

Ben has my tiny closet open. My mattress is bare, dresser drawers ransacked, and I hear purring from the open door. I cock my head and shut my bedroom door, padding over to some of the stuff spilling out onto the floor. I’m not sure why he threw all my stuff in the closet, but it’s _rude_ and…

I hesitate.

My stuff is piled together with Ben’s new clothes, arranged neat like a nest. He’s sitting in the middle, purring and rubbing one of my shirts on his neck just under his jaw. His eyes are blue and glassy. It reminds me of how Unkar looks when he’s really drunk.

Ben’s swirling eyes shift to me and he coos like a dove. He leans forward to pull me inside and plops me between my legs, clicking his tongue fast. He hums—I can’t believe how many weird noises he makes—and rubs his chin on me like he’s a cat. I grimace when I feel something bumpy in his neck.

 “Clean my stuff up!” I snap.

He warbles and clicks and totally ignores me. I cross my arms and glare across my room while he rubs his neck all over my head. His hands paw at the sheets for a minute, then his breath suddenly catches.

Ben grabs my wrist and smells my hand. A growl rumbles in his chest and he pushes my hand on his neck, smooshing around the big lump. I squeal at the squishy texture and feel a whole row of them down the side of his throat. Ewww!

 “No!” I spit. I scramble away from him and fall on my butt just outside the closet. “You need to see a doctor—that’s so gross!”

Ben blinks at me, then his broad shoulders sag. He whimpers like a kicked puppy and curls into a ball in all my clothes and sheets, clutching my pillow. I stare at him and feel a weird pang of guilt. What’s wrong with him, anyway? He’s obviously not a human, but… what else could he be?

I push my hair back out of my face and get changed in another part of my room into pajamas. The red plaid shirt vanishes into the closet after I take it off and I hear Ben purr again. I wander over to watch from the closet door. His eyes are half-open, glowing in the darkness while he nuzzles the shirt. The bumps on his neck lead down in a bright red line that frames his throat.

I lean closer, curious. “Do they itch?”

Ben’s hazy eyes wander to mine and he nods. I frown and crawl in the closet to check them out myself. I don’t want to brag, but I’m basically a doctor. I told Poe he had chickenpox before his mom and dad figured it out.

I kneel next to Ben and he rolls on his back. His blue eyes flicker like he has a fever. My fingers stretch curiously toward the biggest bump just under his jaw, but I hesitate. Something tells me I shouldn’t touch it, and I always go with my gut.

 “Uh… take a nap,” I suggest.

Ben’s tongue flashes out of his mouth and snaps up to the edge of my throat before I can blink. But it stops—so close I can feel the prickly teeth on the three split parts. I stare at Ben, terrified. I can feel his breath through the holes in his tongue.

It slowly draws back in his mouth like a snake. Ben scratches the bumps and rolls away from me on his side, clicking ominously to himself. I back out of the closet and the door clicks shut.

That night I decide to sleep on my mattress without my blankets. I shiver and stare at the closet, listening to Ben coo and click and rustle around our clothes. Maybe I should bring him back to the cornfield.


	4. Dark Matter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaand here we go

Clicking and the shifting of my mattress wake me in the morning. I frown and groan, swatting at the person lying behind me, and hope they’ll let me go back to bed. But the clicking turns into annoyed coos like a pigeon, and I can feel something rubbing on my head. I glance over my shoulder and freeze.

Ben is lying there with his mouth covered in blood. His fangs jut out of his mouth and the bumps still line his throat, now bright angry red and purple. I stare in shock as he beams and grabs my hand to rub my knuckles along the bumps. They’re hard and hot and swish around when I touch them.

 “No!” I snap, ripping my hand free. I scramble out of bed in my nightgown and push my hair out of my face. “Cut it out, Ben!”

He rolls on his back and buzzes like he’s sad. Ben drags me back and sits on the edge of the bed to rub the bumps on my head. He tugs my head to the side and they squish against my throat instead. It makes him purr, but I’m grossed out. I shove him away and he reaches pitifully for me.

I huff and storm to the closet to see what else he did while I was asleep. He’s super weird. He needs to go back to the cornfield.

It’s lined with even more stuff. He must’ve pillaged the farm down the road for wool and yarn to make a lining, and my stuff is in the middle. It looks like a bird’s nest to me. Why is Ben making a nest? Is that what they do where he’s from?

I gag when I see a dead gray kitten laid out on my things like a present. It’s limp, bleeding from the throat. How—?! Who would hurt a cat?!

Ben clicks behind me and rubs his throat on my head again. I whirl around and slap him across the face and he staggers back with wide eyes.

 “Get out!” I snap. “Right now!”

He twiddles his thumbs and hunches, inching closer and cooing likes he’s apologizing. But I don’t care. I feed the barn cats all the time and I hate finding them dead. It’s even worse that Ben did it.

Tears well up in my eyes and I shove him. “Get away from me! GET OUT!”

Ben’s eyes turn blue and he outstretches a hand to bring the kitten to him. I stare in shock and horror as he twitters and twists the head off in one bloody movement. He frowns like he’s confused and opens his mouth wide to consume the body in a monstrous single bite.

I scream. Ben panics and finally flees when I start beating the hell of out him. He runs downstairs and I chase him out the front door, still screaming as he takes off around the edge of the house.

I’m so _mad!_ I throw on overalls and my boots and rush outside to make sure he didn’t hurt any of the animals. Petunia is already chowing in the field and everyone else looks okay. A few eggs are missing from the hen house but I don’t mind if Ben eats them. They’re meant to be eaten.

I notice he already did my chores for the day and feel a pang of regret. Maybe they eat cats where he’s from… But who the heck would eat a kitten?

Maybe it’s for the best. I like Ben, but he should probably go back home. I circle the property and look for him but don’t find any trace.

When I walk back to the house, I see two men in black suits on the porch. They turn and look at me and touch their ears. They have sunglasses on and don’t smile when I smile at them. Okay… This would be a nice time to have Ben around.

 “Hi there,” I chirp, waving. “My foster dad is at work right now. Can I help you?”

The taller man glances at his partner. “We’re looking for a man who may have passed through here. I’m Agent Hux, and this is Agent Phasma.”

 “Nice to meet you. I’m Rey.” I shake their hands and shrug. “I haven’t seen anybody. Maybe they know something in town—or Miss Leia lives just down the road. She can help, I bet.”

 “She gave us the tip,” Agent Phasma says. Oh—it’s a girl. “Told us you met a strange man named Ben after the cornfield crash. Is he around?”

I get the feeling that they aren’t Ben’s friends. I shake my head and look away from their stares. They don’t seem very nice. I should warn Ben.

Agent Hux raises an eyebrow. “Can we look around inside? He’s very dangerous. We don’t want you to get hurt, Rey.”

 “My dad will be home later.” I brush past them and stand in front of the door. “He doesn’t want me letting strangers in the house. You can come back when he’s home if you want.”

The two exchange another look and Hux gives me a business card. They leave in a sleek black car and I don’t move until they disappear down the dirt road. Phew. I know something isn’t right. Ben isn’t dangerous—he’s just confused and scared. I would be if I crashed in the middle of a cornfield.

I rush upstairs to get Unkar’s pistol so I can look for Ben in the woods. I’m afraid the agents will find him first. Scared animals always lash out. They don’t know any better; they’re just scared.

It’s hot as heck and humid as heck. I bring a canteen with water on my journey and tell Petunia to guard the house on my way past her. She chews her cud and lazily watches me march into the woods with my pistol drawn and brow furrowed. I’ll find Ben. I feel bad now for making him leave.

The trees close me in quick. Shade helps cool me off and I step carefully over a couple upturned roots hiding newts. It’s quiet. Wind ruffles and leaves and some sunlight manages to dapple down to the leaf-strewn ground. If I was Ben, where would I go?

 “…Ben?” I call, turning in a circle. “Are you out here? I’m sorry for getting mad earlier, but you shouldn’t hurt the barn kittens.”

Nothing answers me, just the breeze. I frown and keep going, looking for tracks like I did when I hunted with Poe and Kes once. It’s muddy but hard to see though the leaves. I think I can make out some deer tracks and I follow those for a bit, but no shoes or signs of Ben. Where did he go?

He wouldn’t go back to town. Kes might be his friend, but Ben wouldn’t wander that far from me. He probably ran into the woods because he was so upset. I hope I find him before nightfall, or at least before the agents do. Is it safe for him to be outside? What if he’s attacked by a bear or something?

Fear makes me move faster. I keep calling Ben and spinning in circles until I’m deep in the woods and pushing through thorny bushes. They pull at my T-shirt until a branch tears through and draws a deep gash across my left upper arm. I yelp in pain and scramble to get out, stumbling into a little brook where I fall on my butt in the rocks.

Ouch. I wince and check my bloody arm with an annoyed huff. Ben better appreciate me ripping myself up to find him.

Low, slow clicking drifts out of the woods.

I blink and look up to see Ben standing halfway behind a tree. One of his hands is curled around the trunk but… it’s not right. His fingers are long with bubbly round ends, and he only has three of them. One blue eye watches me, bigger than any chicken egg I’ve ever seen with no black spot in the middle. His lips are pulled back over his fangs and it looks scary with his black hair framing his face.

Ben is shrouded in shadows. I smile as I scramble to my feet and wipe mud off my butt.

 “You feel okay?” I call. “I’m sorry I yelled, but you can’t hurt cats, okay? It’s not nice.”

Ben chirps and disappears behind the tree. I sigh and slosh out of the brook to follow him deeper into the woods. He’s being kind of sensitive. I’ve seen pigs and stuff slaughtered before but finding a dead kitten in my closet wasn’t easy.

I stumble over a log and hear humming and purring from my left. Ben peeks out from a big boulder and waves his three fingers at me, mouth curling in a weird smile. I huff and stamp my foot.

 “Quit running off!” I demand. “I said I was sorry!”

Ben tilts his head and blinks, edging out from behind the boulder. He keeps making weird noises as he walks closer to me with jerky steps. The leaves crunch under his feet. They’re bare.

Nervous, I step back. “Are you feeling okay?”

He smiles, dragging his gums over his teeth. The bumps in his neck are deep purple now and he reaches up to roll them between his three fingers. His tongue slides out of his mouth and wipes blood off his fangs.

I know something’s wrong. His swirling blue eyes stay locked on me as he walks closer and they draw me in. I feel like a moth fluttering to my death at a lamp.

The ground moves under my feet and tries to wrap around my feet. I shriek in terror and take off into the forest before the dirt closes over my boots, leaving Ben and his scary eyes behind me. Oh no—no, no. Maybe I should’ve told the agents that I’d seen Ben. Maybe he’s too much for me to handle.

Trees twist in my path and I slide in the leaves, almost falling, then turn on my heel and run the other way. The ground keeps lifting up, trying to trip me, until it finally hooks on my toe and sends me sprawling to the ground. I squeal in pain when my wrist turns the wrong way and cracks.

The earth curls over my hands to hold me on the ground. Ben approaches as I yank and scream and try to get away. He crouches in front of me and grasps my jaw in his three cold fingers, turning my face towards his. I burst into tears and Ben’s lips slip over his fangs to cover them up again but I become trapped in his enormous blue eyes.

The blue mixes with white and silver and swirls around like a whirlpool. Soon I stop struggling and gaze into the bright pools with Ben’s face just a few inches from mine. They’re… so pretty…

Ben coos and clicks. My mouth falls open and I sit there in silence as his tongue slowly worms out of his mouth. He turns his head and mine and my throat is wide open, but I can’t stop gazing into his eyes. He purrs as his tongue splits into three sharp sections and winds around to the edge of my throat.

 “Ben,” I whisper, “you have really pretty eyes.”

Sharp pain in the side of my throat almost pulls me away but Ben coos and holds my gaze. I feel the hooks in his tongue bury in my skin. A strange sensation trickles down my neck, like ice under my skin, and I whimper a little.

Ben bares his fangs. _I’m glad you think so, Rey._

A deep voice echoes in my head and I blink in surprise. Ben’s tongue rips free of my skin and he coos as I slump into his chest, suddenly drowsy. The last thing I see is a flash of his blue eyes behind my eyelids.


	5. Oort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reeeeee

Wet, crunchy snapping sounds wake me up.

I’m under a heavy, thick blanket that smells a lot like hay and sheep, and I know I don’t own anything like that. Groggy, I moan and squeeze my eyes shut, forgetting where I am for a minute: in my dark closet that’s now layered with all kinds of soft things. My neck throbs from the bite Ben’s tongue gave me.

The noises stop. I hear sheets ruffle around and Ben’s weird purring, then the blanket peels back.

Ben looks normal again—no strange hands or eyes. His dark, lidded gaze stays on mine as he coos and lifts me up by my armpits. My eyes widen when I see a pile of crack bones in the corner and a smattering of feathers, all covered in blood. I’m scared, but I feel like I can’t move _because_ I’m so scared.

Ben leans on the wall and pulls me into his lap, and his eyes swirl blue again. He cups the back of my head with both hands, using his thumbs to gently tug my mouth open. I gawk up at him and watch his long, freaky tongue snake out of his mouth, past rows of jagged, bloodstained teeth. The three parts unfurl as it comes closer and closer and I gaze into his blue eyes, mystified. Pretty… so pretty… I barely notice the glinting teeth along his glistening tongue.

  _Complete the prerogative._

His voice rumbles in my head, deep and penetrating like a roll of thunder. Ben hisses slow in his throat like a snake and the tip of his tongue brushes my upper lip. I know he’s going to push it down my throat. Tears well up in my eyes at the thought of _that_ , and spill down my cheeks as Ben comes closer.

He stops and his tongue whips back in his mouth. His eyebrows draw together. _…Prerogative? Mate?_

The blue color leaves his eyes and I can talk again. I burst into sobs and Ben panics, clicking and cooing and hugging me to his hard chest. He smooths my hair down and grabs the blanket to wrap it around my back while I cry into his flannel shirt. I don’t know what’s going on—I’m so scared and confused.

Ben’s neck is still puffy from the lumps. They feel even harder than the other day, insistent on my cheek, but I’m too busy crying to care. He squeezes me tight and hums, rocking from side to side, and I bury my face in his chest. I don’t know where else to go. I can hear him in my head.

  _You object to the prerogative?_ Ben asks.

I sniffle. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I… I don’t even know who you are!”

  _Breed_. _Breed prerogative._ Ben takes my wrist to rub my hands on his bumps. _Breed._

Breed? I know about breeding—I live on a farm after all. I redden at the mention of it and squirm free of Ben’s arms to the soft blankets, and he seizes my other hand. He rubs my palms along his neck and his dark eyes flicker back like he’s enjoying it. I blink up in shock as he pulls me in his lap again and wraps his long arms around my back, holding me to his chest.

The bumps roll under my palms, throbbing with each stroke, and Ben’s voice groans in my head. He coos lighter than before, like he’s losing his breath, and lets go of my wrists to let me touch the bumps on my own. I still don’t get them, but figure it might make him leave me alone, so I keep rubbing my hands on them. They squish and pulse and Ben hugs me. I shudder and keep my eyes closed.

  _Complete the prerogative?_ Ben asks tentatively. He has his palm on my bare back and I feel something long and cold slowly slither around my ribs. _Mate rests. I will complete the prerogative._

The thing drifts across my belly and worms toward my underwear, and I slap Ben across the face. He blinks in shock and doesn’t try to grab me when I scramble out of his lap. I don’t want to play with him anymore. I don’t know what’s going on, and I definitely don’t want him trying to ‘breed’ with me. I’m not some kind of dumb kid.

 “Cut it out!” I demand, wiping my tear-streaked cheeks. “I’m not doing that with you! I’m seven!”

  _But… I prepared your nest, mate. My body says it’s time to breed._

 “Well your body is _wrong.”_

Ben warbles in confusion and scratches his head. _Incorrect breeding protocol?_ His brows draw together and he starts unbuttoning his pants with a small frown. _This way, mate?_

Panicked, I hurry out of the closet into my bedroom. Ben follows close behind and I feel a weird flash of fear over my own as he grabs my ankle. He clicks nervously, dragging me back into the closet while I scream and flail my arms and legs. No, no! NO!

The door slams shut on its own and we struggle in the stuffy darkness. I pant and scream again when Ben’s eyes glow blue—it’s like he’s hypnotizing me, and I’m afraid of what’s going to happen if I can’t look away. He looks upset as I land a kick on his chest and watches me try to drag the closet door open. It’s stuck, and I’m trapped in my closet with Ben and his pile of animal parts and ‘nest.’

  _Don’t go,_ his deep voice pleads in my head. _Please—I’m trying to make you comfortable. Is this not what females prefer?_

“You better not touch me!” I sob, shrinking away. “Miss Leia and Kes will kill you! Kes shot Paul Rickle when he tried to kiss Poe!”

Ben waves his hands frantically. _I don’t—I don’t know your customs! My planet is entirely male and I’ve forgotten some details of Earth after the crash. I thought human women—_

 “You’re a bad man!” I snap between heaving sobs. “I’ve been nice to you, even when the agents came to find you, and you killed one of the barn cats!”

  _I didn’t realize such an innocuous creature was important to you! I thought you were ready to mate when I found you swimming with Kes’s progeny and I wanted to be sure I marked you before—_

My stomach turns. I shriek at the thought of ‘mating’ with anyone and throw pillows and stuffed animals at Ben’s head. He cowers back, twittering apologetically, and covers his face with his huge hands like the pillows actually hurt. It makes me feel better seeing him afraid after he scared me. I don’t like his creepy blue eyes or the bumps in his neck or the nest he made in my closet. It’s scary.

I run out of stuff to chuck and sink down to the floor. Ben peers through his fingers and coos when he sees me crying in the corner. He crawls closer on his hands and knees, hesitating and clicking if I happen to notice and draw back, until he comes up to sit in front of me. I watch his fingers elongate and twirl into one thick, black _thing_ , like a shapeless arm, and wrap behind my back to drag me between his thighs. My breath hitches in fear as his normal arm wraps around my shoulders and he holds me in a weird embrace against his chest. He breathes on my neck.

I tremble, terribly uncomfortable. “You should go. I don’t like this and I can’t give you what you want.”

Ben’s chest vibrates with a comforting purr. He strokes the back of my head with his palm and squeezes me tighter. I wheeze when it pinches my ribs and he trills an apology.

  _You’re a youngling… yes?_

 “I’m a kid. Haven’t you met kids?”

  _No. The woman cares for the progeny after breeding._ Ben draws back his long arm and I feel something slimy poke and stick on my cheek. _I’ve never met a human child. Kes Dameron’s boy—he’s still a child? And the boy with the dark skin?_

I reach up and gag when I feel a puckering tentacle on my skin. Ben frowns when I slap it away but his hand transforms back to a human one, and he prods my cheek with his fingers.

I nod. “Yes, Poe and Finn are both kids, too. There’s no babies where you’re from?”

  _We return to our mates when our progeny reaches maturity to collect him. Our offspring are always male._ Ben tugs my cheeks, pushing his thumbs on my gums. _Look at all your little teeth. You’ve lost one._

Ben is telling me he’s an alien, then. I blink at him and he blinks back. He _did_ crash in the cornfield… and I’ve never seen someone who can make their teeth into pointy fangs. He shows them to me like he can read my thoughts and I scowl and bare my teeth back. His remind me of a shark.

He smiles and pokes me hard in the chest. _Where are your breasts, little human?_

 “I ain’t got any!” I hiss, smacking his wrist. “I’m a kid—aren’t you listening?! I won’t be an adult for like ten years!”

Ben cocks his head. _Oh… I must have forgotten. You’re not fit for breeding, then—but you_ are _my mate. I suppose I can wait while you age._ He holds up one of my scrawny arms with a disgusted look. _I’m not sure why my body reacted to this travesty. Aren’t you eating enough, Rey?_

 “I eat fine!”

  _Hm. All those foul vegetables are useless sugary energy. Fresh meat is best._

The alien brings a bone to his palm and it slaps into his skin. He cracks it open and puts one side to my lips like a straw, then offers me the other half. I screw up my face and wave it away.

 “I have to eat cooked meat.”

  _Revolting_. Ben takes my half of the bone and sucks out the inside. _Marrow is very sweet. I’ll find something for your sensitive human belly._

I start to complain again, but the door opens downstairs and interrupts me. Ben tilts his head like he’s listening and spits and hisses like an angry cat. He hugs me tighter for a second and I feel his heart thundering against my chest.

 “It’s just Unkar,” I mumble.

  _It’s the federal agents, too. They stole my ship._ Ben growls and digs his fingers into my back. _They won’t take you from me._

Uh oh. I hear feet on the stairs and squirm in Ben’s arms, struggling to escape before they come upstairs and see us. He holds me in his lap and doesn’t flinch as I try to sink my teeth into the neck. Let GO!

 “Don’t hurt them!” I whisper urgently. “Please?”

Ben mutters and lets me go. _As you wish._

His jaw opens wide and he eats the pile of bones really fast. Then he violently shapeshifts right in front of me, body tearing and rippling, and I blink. Ben is an enormous, shaggy black dog with blue eyes—like Tundra, but way bigger. He snarls and curls protectively around me as my bedroom door opens.

I lean into his soft fur and swallow a lump in my throat. “We have a lot to talk about, y’know.”

  _I know._ His damp snout snuffles my belly. _First, you’ll have a good meal._

It tickles and I giggle as the closet door slides open. Ben ignores the three people staring down at us for a minute while he snorts on my stomach, then finally raises his enormous head. He bares his teeth and his tail flicks across my lap as Hux and Phasma begin to draw their guns.

 “No!” I shriek.


	6. Supernova

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get ready for weird tentacle shit

 “Ma’am?”

The dream is swallowed up and my eyes snap open.

Here I am again—back in New Mexico, back at that old, dilapidated farm, back to that summer in 1947. It feels like nothing’s changed, but as I yawn and stretch in the cab, I see Petunia’s old pen in disarray and the chicken coop smashed to bits. Weeds abound. Plutt let the place go to shit.

The cabbie helps me unload my two suitcases, worn with age, and squints at the rotting shingles. It’s 1960 now, a much different time, and it’s not strange for a twenty-year-old woman to own her own farm. But men still ‘worry’ about us. He’s probably thinking I’ll be kidnapped or attacked.

 “This is what I always wanted,” I say with a smile. “College wasn’t really for me, but I love hard, physical work. Got a few neighbors around, too.”

He relaxes. “Oh, good. Be safe, ma’am.”

It’s a different way of life here. I wave to the cabbie as he heads out and gaze up at the farm again. People care about each other—nothing like being in New York, where everyone’s in a rush and no one can stop to talk. Only Plutt made me want to leave New Mexico in the first place, so I’m happy to be back.

Roswell became a sensation after the ship crash. It’s been so long since that summer that I’m not even sure if any of it was real. Maybe it was just a weather balloon like the feds said, and my crazy kid mind made everything else up. I always had a wild imagination. Still do. Wouldn’t have made me a very good secretary, though. Following directions isn’t my thing, so inheriting the farm was a stroke of luck.

I bring my stuff inside and leave it in the kitchen to check out the condition of the house. I’m sure I’ll have to fix the electrical and plumbing, which I’ll need a little help with. The roof leaks, the shingles are cracking, and I need to restock with farm animals. Plow the field… Ugh. I certainly got the physical labor I wanted so badly.

The walls and floors are in good shape. I’ll need to repaint and replace the appliances, but Leia still lives down the road and she can help me track stuff down. I run my fingers along the wall while I walk and peer into my old tiny bedroom.

The closet door is open, and it’s otherwise empty. I meander over and peek inside to have a look. Yeah, I’m pretty convinced I dreamed it all up. I barely remember what the ‘alien’ looked like and I don’t remember his old nickname. It’s like the memories dropped out of my head.

I head back outside and grab a bike from the storage shed to take a ride to Leia’s first. I’m not sure who still lives in town, but I want to go there next.

More homes have popped up and the road is paved now. I’m sure town will be full of alien junk to bring in tourists, and I’m sure none of the elderly folks like it. I smile and stand on the pedals while I ride, swaying the bike side to side and letting the breeze run through my hair. I love these open spaces.

Leia’s house looks brand new. She’s out on the porch when I ride up and hurried out of her rocker and down the steps to me. I toss the bike and laugh as we embrace on her gravel driveway. She holds me at arm’s length and brushes her hands down my cheeks.

 “Rey!” she exclaims. “Look at you!”

 “It’s been _way_ too long! How are you? How’s the farm?”

She smiles and threads her elbow through my arm. “Well, my brother Luke moved in a few years back and he’s been helping me with upkeep. We’re down to a few cows and some chickens, plus the corn. We’ll be happy to come help you with planting, Rey, and we have some appliances in the basement if you need any.”

As always, Leia can read my mind. We go inside to her new yellow kitchen and she fixes me a sandwich with fresh lemonade.

I’m munching on an apple when Luke comes in from outside with stained overalls on and a brimmed straw hat. He looks like her, but he’s got a grizzly greying beard and a stern face, like he’s sad. He waves and I wave back.

Leia sips her tea. “Luke, this is Rey, the girl who used to live at Plutt’s farm. Rey, this is my twin brother, Luke Skywalker.”

 “Nice farm,” Luke says as he gets a glass for a drink. “We’ll help you fix it up. Lulu is pregnant and we don’t need another calf, so it’s all yours if you want it. Always have spare chickens, too.”

 “Thanks!” I chirp, smiling. “I’ve got a lot of work to do inside, but I don’t mind.”

 “Your little friends are still in Roswell.” Leia pours Luke’s drink when he sits down. “Poe is the new sheriff and Finn owns the general store. Both married. Bet they’ll be wishing they weren’t when they see you.”

Luke rolls his eyes. “Poe’s engaged to Kaydel Connix, not married. But there’s no chance of breaking up Finn and Rose.”

We catch up for a while before I leave to visit my friends in town. My heart pounds. We haven’t met in years; not since our last summer playing in the river. Child services took me away and brought my to New York, where I grew up in a foster home with too many siblings to count. I’m a lot different. I think.

Roswell blew up like I thought. There’s all kinds of knickknack stores, and a car shop, and restaurants. I ride along the paved streets in wonder until I see the sheriff’s station. It’s a stone building now; real imposing. I chain my bike to the railing and hop up the stairs two at a time like when I was a kid. But Kes Dameron isn’t waiting for me inside.

It’s busy and the floors are white and shiny. There’s five desks and four people, with Poe standing over a woman up front. He glances up when I step inside and his jaw literally drops.

Poe looks… wow. He’s not tall and he has his mom’s strong jaw and Kes’s curly black hair. He has a five o’clock shadow too, and I realize my goofy friend Poe grew up to be kind of hot. Jesus.

He breaks into a grin and scoops me up before I can blink. I shriek and laugh, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face in his shoulder. He smells good, like perfume.

 “Oh my god!” he exclaims. “Rey!” He sets me down and checks me out. “Christ, you look good! How’s New York?”

I shrug. “It was okay. I’m back home now. Unkar left the farm to me. I hear you’re engaged?!”

 “Oh—yeah. Kaydel.” He rubs the back of his head. He looks just like his dad in his brown uniform. “We got engaged a few months back. How ‘bout you?”

 “Single. I’m just happy to have the farm. Leia and Luke are going to help me fix it up!”

 “Oh, great! I’d be happy to help, too. Kaydel’s parents breed ponies and Fresians and they should have some foals in a few weeks. I know you always wanted a horse, so—”

Another excited squeal comes out of me and I hug Poe again. He laughs and hugs me back tightly.

We stroll through Roswell to the general store where Finn works. It’s big and stocked up, and I see a shirt girl with short black hair and a round belly fixing a messed up display. She turns and smiles at Poe. She’s in a dress down to her knees and has a ring on her left finger.

Poe gestures. “Rey, this is Rose, Finn’s wife. Rose, meet Rey.”

Rose gasps and waddles over to take my hands. “Rey! Oh my gosh! Finn told me so much about you!”

She hugs me as Finn peers from a corner with a toddler slung to his back, fast asleep. He hugs me too, and seems mesmerized like Poe was about me growing up. Rose gladly offers up her husband to help me and also says she’ll come over and feed us at the end of the day. I hug Finn and smile into his chest. I’m back home.

The four of us go out for lunch at a nearby diner after Finn passes over the store to a cashier. We chat and laugh and everything feels like it used to.

The sun is setting when I head home. Poe offers to drive me, but I’d much rather ride my bike. I give him a chaste kiss on the cheek before I head out and he promises to stop by in the morning to check on me.

 “Worry about Kaydel!” I call, laughing.

I cycle down the roads back to my farm. It feels nice to say that. It feels even better to wander through the cypress trees on my own, through the dust, and imagine the possibilities.

It’s dark and the crickets are chirping when I get home. I abandon my bike at the back door and head inside and upstairs to my old bedroom instead of Plutt’s. The house is big, so I think I might rent out rooms to make some extra money.

I’ll need the money until the farm gets going. The animals aren’t born yet (except the chickens) and I have to sow all my corn before I can begin to yield a profit. It won’t be much, but it’s enough to have a simple life and work on my art. That’s where my heart is. I love painting and drawing.

I fan out my sleeping bag on the floor in my bedroom and fluff my pillow. I’ll paint a bit in the morning before I go out to start working. The sunrises and sunsets here are beautiful.

After I settle in and close my eyes, someone knocks on the door.

It makes me jump clear out of my sleeping bag. I snatch up my knife and head out of the room and downstairs to the front door. I’m handy with a knife. I went to a self-defense class once a week in the city, too. If someone thinks they can sneak up on me…

The house groans and creaks on my way downstairs. I clench the hilt of the knife and swallow hard. The stranger knocks again when I get to the kitchen, and I get a weird tingling feeling in my neck. I scratch at it and more knocking immediately follows. What the hell?

 “Awful late to be paying a visit,” I call, hesitating a foot away from the door. “Want me to call Sheriff Dameron for you? He can find you lodging for the night.”

It falls silent. I wait with bated breath, anticipating the next move, when I feel something weird and slippery on my bare ankles.

My heart pounds as I look down and see black, puckering _tentacles_ , of all things, quietly curling themselves around my legs. I gasp and stumble back, too shocked to do much else, and the front door creaks open in the moonlight.

  _How I’ve missed you, my mate._

The tentacles lead straight to Ben, looming in my doorway with his head cocked. His swirling blue eyes almost catch mine but I cover them like I did when I was a little girl. I trip over my own two feet and fall flat on my ass on the kitchen floor.

I tremble as the tentacles climb higher. “Oh god… oh god…”

The door creaks shut and Ben approaches, but I can only hear the groaning floor and wet squelch of his tentacles. I didn’t get a good look at him. I know his blue eyes can hypnotize me.

  _What’s wrong, Rey?_ his deep voice coos in my mind.

 “I—I thought you were a dream!”

Sticky skin plucks along my thighs, worming under my shorts with squirming undulations. I keep my eyes squeezed shut and bat at them blindly with whispers of protest. I’m too shocked to do much else besides lie on my back as Ben comes closer, and struggle to get the tentacles off me.

One slithers through the leg of my panties and my eyes pop open in shock. I arch off the floor as it pushes inside my body with no warning and I finally become trapped by Ben’s bright blue eyes. He smiles, standing over me with his hands in his pockets, watching my body shift with each pulse of the tentacle. I whimper, weakly digging my heels into the cold floor.

 _Does this feel like a dream?_ he murmurs.

And I wake with a start, gasping and writhing in my sleeping bag. I clutch my chest and run a hand through my hair. Holy shit. Holy shit.

 “Nightmare,” I mutter. “Nightmare.”

I get up on shaking legs to check between my legs and I’m relieved that nothing seems wrong. I’m nervous being in the house alone for the first time, so nightmares are normal. I exhale and walk downstairs for a glass of water to help me calm down.

It’s quiet. I gulp back the cool water and look out the window over the kitchen sink at the dark forest far off on the edge of my property. Unkar left me about two hundred acres, so I can pull a decent profit and have some livestock. I look around, planning where I’ll put the horse stall, when I hear a thud in the basement.

I stiffen mid-sip. If I don’t check, I’ll be paranoid all night, but if I _do_ check…

Ugh. I set my glass in the sink and head for the basement door under the stairs. Last I knew it was full of crap, so I didn’t even bother going down to look during my sweep earlier. I sigh as I open the door and flip on the switch that lights up the dusty stairs, descending into darkness.

 “Never knew this house was so creepy,” I mumble as I walk down.

I step off the rickety stairs on to the dirty floor and guide my way with my fingertips on the stone wall. There’s another switch nearby…

  _…Mate?_

Two bright blue eyes peer at me through the darkness and a curious touch brushes over my consciousness. I stare as Ben emerges from the darkness, cheeks sallow and face gaunt, and he coos and clicks with excitement when he sees me. His throat is inflamed with the bumps again; angry purple and making him twitch uncomfortably.

His lips draw back over his teeth and pull some of the skin away from his eyes. There’s no threat of death from him, but I can tell he’s hungry in more ways than one.

I race for the stairs, but Ben forces the door shut. Terrified, I pound and kick at the door until the lights suddenly go out and I feel the same thing from my dream: _tentacles._ They creep up my calves and I scream as I’m dragged down the stairs and across the dirty floor, raking my back on nails along the way.

Then my skin slips across something soft. I pant in fear and hear Ben warble nervously.

  _Ah—you’re injured. Let me help._

The tentacles flip me on my stomach and Ben’s hands rip through the back of my shirt. It happens so fast that I can barely process it, let alone refuse him. Something whooshes through the air and the lights flicker on overhead as Ben smears ointment on the scratches. I flinch.

Half of the basement is lined with different pelts and furs and blankets. It looks like he pillaged a few houses to build the ‘nest.’ I look around in terror as Ben hums and gently cleans the scratches.

  _Complete the prerogative,_ he coos. _Time to complete the prerogative._


	7. Gravity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this took forever

Ben hums as he cleans the scrapes on my back and I stare in terror at the tentacles writhing beside me. The prerogative… I know the prerogative. I watch the tentacles sucker to the blankets and hope to god he doesn’t intend of stuffing one of them inside me.

He coos and clicks. _My mate. I’ve waited so long…_

 “Ben?” I rasp. “Ben, I’m not consenting.”

  _Consenting? What is consenting?_

 “I’m not agreeing to sex or… the prerogative.”

The alien warbles and draws back. _I have waited many years, mate. I have hardly eaten. You object?_

“I… it’s been a long time.”

He pulls away from me and his tentacles snap back. I’m in too much pain to move, but I roll on my side to look at him. Ben is skinny and gaunt and he looks dejected now. His bright blue eyes watch me moving, but he doesn’t try to touch me. My back ripples with pain as I squirm.

Ben clicks his teeth. _You agreed to breed._

 “People rescind consent, Ben.” I look around. “Let’s… let’s go upstairs. You need sunlight and food and water. It’s been a really long time.”

  _It has. Your new body is very appealing to me._

Oh god. I smile nervously and gesture to him. Ben picks up on it and scoops me off the floor bridal style to bring my upstairs. He’s cold.

We sit in the living room in my old couch. Ben clicks when I moan in pain and holds back when I swat at him. I see black tentacles curl from near his ribs. He holds off, but I know he doesn’t want to. I can feel it in my neck. It tingles.

  _Mate,_ he huffs in my head, _let me care for you._

 “No!” I snap. “I’m fine!”

Ben warbles irately and flings his tentacles around me. _You certainly are not!_

He drags me between his legs and strokes my head with his hands. I grunt and squirm, but Ben is much stronger and keeps me in place. He touches the wounds on my back with his tentacles and I feel ooze slip in my skin. It’s cool and soothing and helps stop the burning pain. I scowl anyway into his cold chest.

We don’t speak for a bit. My wounds stop screaming in pain and I relax a little. I don’t resist the cool tingle of Ben’s tentacles along my skin, and he doesn’t speak to me. He’s tired. If he’s really been waiting since I left the house… that’s a long, long time.

Ben shifts. _How is the human world?_

 “It’s okay. I’m here to stay now, so…” I check his neck and see the bumps are back, engorged and purple. “Have you had those the whole time?”

  _No, they faded after you left. Now you’re home, and my body senses it._ He blinks and his eyes turn brown. _When will we breed?_

I roll my eyes. “It’s not that simple.”

  _Of course it is. I insert my penis or tentacle inside your vagina and you incubate the fetus for nine months. Or I can go down your throat._ Ben opens his mouth and his tongue emerges, unfolding into three splits with horrifying teeth.

 “No—no!” I shake my head and squirm away from him. “No thanks!”

Ben follows me into the kitchen. He clicks like he’s sad and tries to grab my wrist a few times. I swat him away and storm upstairs to my bedroom with the alien hot on my heels, making sad sounds along the way. He flings his tentacles around my waist and drags me toward the closet.

  _A safe place to mate!_ Ben chirps.

 “Ben, NO!”

He hesitates, then glares down at me. _You made a promise. We’re mates!_

 “I don’t care!” I retort.

Neither of us moves. Our eyes stay locked, dark and light, until Ben finally withdraws his tentacles. They vanish inside his body and he huffs. I can feel his irritation and disappointment, but I’m relieved he has the sense to stop.

He clicks and buzzes to communicate how pissed off he is and sits on the floor with his arms and legs crossed. I slip into my sleeping bag a couple feet away and continue studying him. He’s the mysterious Roswell alien and here he is, in my house, still waiting to ‘mate’ after all these years. But what _is_ he?

 “Can’t you call your… people?” I venture.

  _Yes. But I must complete the objective first._ Ben twitches his neck like a bird. _Another of my kind lives here. Kes Dameron._

Huh. I remember seeing Kes’s eyes light up blue that first day I brought Ben into town. Does Poe know his father’s an alien? Does that make Poe an alien, too?

I wince as I settle in, back smarting. “Do you stick around after you knock me up?”

  _Typically we leave the female to gestate alone on her home planet, then return to collect our offspring. My people are all male and we breed with various species to populate._ Ben rolls his eyes at me. _Kes grew attached to his mate and remained. His offspring is weak due to being raised on this planet._

 “Great. Romantic.”

Ben beams. _But you and I have a deeper bond, Rey. We’re soulmates. You’ll come with me when you’re pregnant._

Oh god. I groan and turn away in my sleeping bag. Nope. No. I’m too tired to deal with him. Soulmates? No. He’s the weird guy I found in the cornfield a decade ago and I need to get rid of him. I’ll marry a nice normal man who doesn’t have tentacles—or never marry anyone at all.

We lapse into silence. Ben hovers nearby, but I manage to fall asleep with his eerie stare on me.

The frantic ringing doorbell wakes me up. Ben sits beside me with his tentacles coiled around him, but blinks into awareness at the sound. I scramble to my feet, but when I turn to reprimand him, he’s nothing more than a plain gray cat at my feet. I stare. He meows.

 “What the fuck?!” I hiss.

The guest pounds on the door. Ben meows again and follows me downstairs to the front door. The sunlight is just coming in and it’s nice and cool. This is when I used to wake and tend to the animals.

I tug open the front door to find Hux and Phasma there with their shades on. They’re older, of course, but no less serious. Both offer me polite nods as Ben leaps in my arms and hisses. Thank god they don’t know who he is. I give him an aggressive squeeze and smile at the agents in my doorway.

Phasma smiles tightly. “Miss Kenobi. We heard you’ve returned.” She leans in, looking around. “Any information about the cornfield?”

 “Nope!” I chirp. “Nothing.”

Hux huffs. “Mm. We’ll be patrolling for any further information. You know how times have changed.”

 “Great,” I manage. “Wasn’t that like, a weather balloon though?”

They don’t say anything more. I watch them leave with Ben in my arms, his tail twitching and shivering. They know he’s still around and they know he’s tied to me. What will they do if they find him?

I shut the door and drop Ben, glaring down at him. He licks his paw and eyes me with one blue iris, every bit the snobby cat you’d expect. Then he shapeshifts back to a ‘human,’ and his form ripples and stretches during the two seconds it takes. He has the same dumb look on his face but is now completely naked. I stare for a second in shock before I scream.

 “Are you _serious?!_ ” I shriek. “Put some fucking clothes on, Ben!”

His body looks human; that’s for sure. The image of his pale nude body now seared into my brain, I storm out of the kitchen with him laughing in my head. Now I have federal agents sniffing around my property _and_ Ben can turn into a goddamn cat. I came back home for a peaceful, simple life—not this!

  _I lose my clothing when I transform. Forgive me, Rey._

 “Fuck you.”

We storm around the house arguing for a while. I clean along the way, at least making some use of the useless bickering with my alien stalker. Ben refuses to put on pants so I have to keep shielding my eyes to keep from seeing his cock. He’s worse than the frat guys at college.

  _I like your new body,_ he says for the hundredth time.

I’m sweeping up paint chips in the hallway. Ben helps, using his strange power to gather dirt and dust in piles I can clean more easily. I blush furiously.

 “Good for you,” I snap.

  _You are approaching estrus. An ideal time to—_

I whirl around to smack him in the head with the broom, but Ben deflects it. Four tentacles wrap around my waist before I can blink and they drag me right to Ben. He beams, clicking happily as I grunt and squirm in his eerie embrace. The tentacles keep me restrained to his hard, cold body, leaving his hands free to touch my face like it’s made of glass.

He hums. _My mate. Such a fierce human._ His fingertips brush along my hairline and his brown eyes lock on my mouth. _We will be together forever. I marked your neck. Mine, mine._

That was a day I tried hard to forget. I remember Ben following me through the woods, half-crazed, and biting my neck with his gross tongue. It tingles now like it hasn’t in years. It stung for a long time when I was taken away to New York.  

Ben kisses the corner of my mouth. _You can’t leave me now._

My breath hitches as one of the tentacles creeps a wet trail under the hem of my panties. I’m only in a nightgown so there isn’t much in his way. Ben gives me a sloppy kiss, one hand resting on the crook of my neck so his thumb can stroke the mark. I go limp in his… tentacles, but he holds me up with no effort. My heart pounds as I kiss him back and try to show him what to do.

I’m curious. It feels bad and I never do anything bad. Ben coos against my lips as the tentacle curls under the back of my thigh and crawls toward my entrance. I pant nervously and my toes curl, and Ben dips his lips to the mark, kissing it in earnest. Okay, this is fucked up and weird. Does it count as sex?

The doorbell rings.

I snap out of my reverie and bite Ben’s lower lip. He yelps and releases me from our hug, and I stagger for a second before I get a grip. Humiliated, I wipe my mouth and readjust my nightgown on my way to the front door. Christ, what’s wrong with me?!

 “Unbelievable,” I mutter. “Fucking unbelievable.”

This time it’s Poe Dameron at the door, and he has fresh eggs for me. He looks every bit as attractive as he did yesterday, which I hoped was a fluke. He looks around as he walks in with his basket, dressed up nice in his sheriff uniform. Goofy Poe Dameron has a gun now. Oi.

 “Lotta work,” he drawls. “You’ll need an icebox first.”

 “Yep. There’s structural issues, I think.” I glance over my shoulder, worried Ben will waltz out stark naked. “Um, Poe—”

  _Eggs!_

Ben, now at least wearing jeans, comes flying out of the living room. He snatches the basket before Poe can react and clicks and warbles excitedly. Poe jumps back and goes for his gun as Ben settles on the floor and pounds back raw eggs. I frantically push down on Poe’s arm, laughing hysterically.

 “Remember Ben?!” I prompt, worried about Poe’s shocked expression. “Well—he’s back!”

 “Isn’t this that creep who followed you everywhere?!” Poe cocks his gun, scowling. “Did he hurt you, Rey? I’ll shoot him right between the eyes.”

Ben glances up and bares his teeth. _Try it, pithy beta male. You still can’t have my mate._

I shake my head. “Nope, no; he’s just been living here since Unkar left. He’s mute—special, y’know? Harmless.”

Ben isn’t doing a good job of looking harmless. He chews with his mouth open, displaying sharp teeth, and lets raw egg ooze down his chin. Poe trembles and glares at Ben. Does Poe not know what Ben is? Maybe Kes never told Poe what _he_ is.

Poe holsters his weapon. “Well he isn’t staying here any more. It’s not right. Not safe.” He gestures towards the window. “Leia’s got some space for him—and Luke can keep things under control.”

I’m not in a position to argue. An unmarried woman living with a mute man much older than her would be the scandal of the century. I nod in agreement and Ben huffs out a weird laugh that sounds like a bird twittering. Poe takes my wrist and drags me outside to talk in private, and I stumble along after him. I’ve got to remember I’m in New Mexico—not New York. Men treat women differently here.

Poe shuts the door behind us and rubs his nose. It’s nearing noon now and the sun is out full force. Bugs buzz past and I look out at my property, all empty fields and broken fences.

He leans on the fence. “I don’t like it—you livin’ out here alone.”

 “I’m hardly a damsel in distress, Sheriff.” I quirk an eyebrow, smirking. “If I remember correctly, _you_ were always losing our wrestling matches.”

Poe laughs and shrugs, shifting his feet. “True. But we’re not kids anymore, Rey. People like _that_ —” He jerks a thumb toward the door “—aren’t afraid to… take advantage. I don’t want him sneaking over here in the middle of the night.”

 “He’s not like that. Thanks for worrying about my virtue, though.”

 “All men are like that. Didn’t New York teach you that?” Poe laughs when I slap his arm. “I know you’ve got a lot of work to do out here, so I’m gonna stay and help you out.”

 “Don’t all men take advantage?” I tease.

Poe straightens, gazing out across the field, and casts me a smug smile. He gives me a chaste kiss on the forehead and lingers there. I wring my hands.

 “Yes, we do,” he murmurs.

Then he draws back and promises to swing by later with Finn and Rose for dinner. I wave awkwardly, skin tingling where his lips touched, as Poe drives off in his cop car. Uh… okay. Alright.

Ben emerges from the house and huffs, rolling his eyes, covered in raw egg. _Men._


	8. Event Horizon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SEVERAL WARNINGS - this is the darkest chapter yet 
> 
> attempted rape, dubcon, and i officially copyright tentacle knotting   
> here's ur tentacle porn u freaks  
> just kidding  
> but go to church

The Great Farm Cleanup begins a few days later.

Ben moves in with Leia and Luke, the latter of whom is very suspicious. They spend most of their time at my farm helping repair the inside and make it livable before we worry about the fencing and barn. Ben chats away with me through our mental connection, but only uses his power when no one’s looking. One time he sniffs Leia and I give him a stern talking-to about boundaries. He rolls his eyes and ignores me.

Finn and Rose stop by a few times a week for dinner. Finn helps out in his spare time, but he has a lot in his plate with the general store. Rose keeps us fed, save for Ben, who prefers eating his weight in eggs and chickens. I try to explain that he can’t eat a live animal in front of other people.

Poe practically moves in—then he _does_ move in, at least temporarily. He works a few hours patrolling town but otherwise leaves it up to his deputies. Kaydel visits when she can, and I understand why Poe’s engaged to her. She’s smart and funny and she’s the local librarian. We sit on the porch some nights and drink beers, laughing about how weird we were as kids. Slowly but surely, things come together.

 “Rey—what’s up with the basement?”

We’re finishing up the first floor of the house. Poe has a tank top and jeans on and he’s trying the basement door with a gloved hand. He’s sweaty as hell, but so am I.

I shrug, wiping my brow with the back of my forearm. “It’s gross. Don’t worry about it.”

 “Ah. Full of junk, huh?” Poe saunters past me to the icebox and takes out two beers.

 “Of course. Unkar was a pack rat _and_ an asshole.”

Poe laughs and twists off a cap, then offers the beer to me. “He got what he deserved, at least. Couple cougars tore him up in the woods—or a bear. Only found his head and a few fingers.”

My spine prickles. I smile at Poe as he opens his beer and narrow my eyes. I highly doubt wild animals got to Unkar. He wasn’t one to take a stroll through the woods, and he’d never go without a gun.

Night falls. We finish painting the last of the hallway just after dark and clink the necks of our third beers. Blue is nice. It makes the house feel less eerie and unsettling. Finn helped out with electrical repairs and Ben fixed the foundation when everyone else left for the night. Except Poe. He’d usually stay.

It’s a nice night to sit out on the porch. The cicadas hiss to each other and a couple bats zip by overhead, off to their nest for the night. The mosquitoes hover out in the field near the watery, muddy patches and usually leave us alone to drink and talk. Tonight is no different. Poe joins me on the steps and I smile when I hear a coyote howl somewhere in the woods.

Poe huffs and points with his bottle. “See? Fuckin’ coyotes. They’ll break in your house, y’know. Run up and bite you for no reason.”

 “Good thing I know how to shoot.” I nudge him with my elbow, laughing. “Better than you, I might add.”

 “You think?”

He rises from the step and spins his pistol out, then aims with his head tilted and one eye open. I take a sip of beer and whoop when he nails a beer can on the fence way at the other end of the property. The backfire crackles through the quiet forest.

Poe smirks smugly. “Beat that.”

 “Pfft. I could do that with my eyes closed.”

He laughs and hands me the gun. I shift my stance, more accustomed to the heft of a rifle, and start when I feel Poe’s hand on my hip. He grasps both gently and his warm breath tickles my throat. My heart pounds as he presses up against my back, worming his fingertips under the hem of my jeans. The gun trembles in my hands.

Poe’s nose brushes behind my ear. “Gotta set your hips, Rey. Sloppy stance makes a bad shot.”

I’m so nervous that I fire into the black night, not aiming at anything in particular. Poe clicks his tongue and takes the gun back, holstering it with his lips still way too close to my skin. I should say no. Kaydel is a nice girl and I’m not going to be responsible for them breaking off the engagement. I hesitate, but squirm away when Poe kisses my neck.

He seizes the front hem of my jeans, hooking his fingers over, and drags me back. He’s smiling and he’s _still_ hot, but also still the same arrogant kid he was thirteen years ago. I scowl, pushing on his chest.

 “You have a fiancée,” I remind him, digging my nails in his chest when he kisses my neck hungrily. He rolls my skin through his teeth and slides his other hand up the back of my shirt. “ _Poe._ ”

The porch light flickers. Wood groans under our combined weight as Poe keeps kissing me and I whisper urgent reasons of why we shouldn’t. Men don’t care. I’ve been warned of that many times.

 “Wouldn’t have one if I knew you’d ever come back,” he mumbles. I tug on his wrist with the fingers down my jeans. “Shh, shh—I won’t hurt you. You do anything with those boys in the city?”

 “Poe Dameron, you better—”

He twists his wrist and suddenly two fingers stretch through my folds. I panic, scrambling to get away now, and he fists my hair at the back of my head, yanking hard and pushing my face under his chin. I’m so shocked and upset that I just whimper and weakly try to pull away from him.

Poe whispers in my ear with beer breath. “Where are you goin’, sweetheart? Runnin’ away from me again?” He dips lower and I cry out as he pushes his middle finger inside me. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. I just want to see what you’ve been up to is all.”

 “I—I haven’t—”

Poe jerks his finger and I yelp at a stinging sensation. He murmurs approval and withdraws his hand to lick blood and clear fluid off, smirking down at me. I shudder and try to pry his fingers out of my hair.

He opens the door and pulls me inside. I stumble through the darkness and Poe kisses me on the lips, leaning over and unbuttoning his jeans. I pull away and fall against the counter, where he pins me and works on getting my pants open. My head spins. Bile gurgles in my stomach.

 “We’re gonna live right here,” he coos, kissing my temple while I cry. “Have a couple babies—few cows and chickens.” I try to slap him and we wrestle for a minute before he pins my hands to the counter. He nuzzles my cheek, tenderly kissing my tears. “Don’t fight… don’t fight. I won’t hurt you. Little pinch is all it is.”

 “Stop,” I plead, sobbing softly. “Please stop.”

 “Why, baby? Hm?” Poe pushes his groin into mine and I feel the swell of his cock. “You’re drunk and nervous. I got you. Won’t hurt one bit.”

Whispering fills the kitchen. I’m too scared to raise my voice and Poe seems to think he’ll make me run off if he raises his. He tries to bring me to the bedroom, but settles for dragging me to the couch instead. He yanks off my shirt and gropes at my small breasts with his calloused hands, mumbling about how tight and tan my skin is. I pant and grapple with him as he resumes kissing the side of my neck, both hands heavy on my hips.

 “I love you,” he whispers. “I love you so much.” Poe pushes my jeans down and slides a hand down the front of my panties. “You’ve never even done this, have you? Good girl.”

He rubs his finger around a sensitive spot and I shiver. Slowly, Poe guides me down on the couch, kneeling between my thighs, and strokes the same spot over and over. He breathes in my hair and tries to block my vision with his shoulder. I whimper and kick when he pulls on my panties.

 “No,” I rasp, “no—”

 “Little pinch,” Poe whispers. “You’ll like it.”

I close my eyes and grimace—and then he’s gone. Ben stands beside the couch, beaming.

  _That is non-consent. It is bad._ His brown eyes flicker to me and he chirps. _Right, mate?_

Trembling, I nod. Holy hell. I need to get Poe out of my fucking house. Thank god Ben dropped by for whatever reason. I couldn’t bring myself to scream—I felt frozen in fear. Holy _shit._ We weren’t even drunk. He was really going to force himself on me.

Ben coos. _I’m going to kill him now._

 “W—Wha—?!” I exclaim. “You can’t do that!”

He frowns, genuinely confused. _He touched my mate. The penalty is death._ Tentacles slide towards the kitchen, which is where I assume Ben threw Poe’s unconscious body. _I’ll snap his neck._

I scramble off the couch and hesitate before pawing at his undulating tentacles. “Yeah, and I’ll be arrested for murder! Just… bring him back to Kaydel. I don’t want him staying here anymore.”

  _No,_ Ben snips. He snakes his tentacles around me and drags me into a slimy hug. He rubs the throat bumps all over my head and purrs. _I will stay here and comfort my mate and torment Kes’s offspring._

“Ben,” I snap, “go back to Leia!”

It’s been a while since we last spent the night together. Everyone keeps a close eye on Ben, especially Luke, who doesn’t trust him at all. Ben hasn’t had quality time to harass me about breeding for several weeks now.

He carries me down to the basement without acknowledging my protests. It’s still layered with soft stuff and Ben ripped the nail out of the floor that I cut my back on. He hums as he drags me into the darkness and soon my weak human eyes can’t make anything out.

  _Comfort mate,_ he trills, still using simple language he didn’t use years back. He drops me in extra fluffy pillows and his inner voice turns deep and ominous. _Kill Poe Dameron._

Oh Christ. Ben snuggles up behind me with two tentacles draped over my ribs and my skin prickles. I need clothes. Now.

But he pulls a blanket over us and I know I’m not going anywhere. I lie still in his literal alien embrace, staring blankly into the darkness. I really just wanted to come home and have my farm, but here I am. I don’t know what to do with Ben, and now I have to deal with Poe. Ugh.

I close my eyes. “This is so exhausting.”

 _Mm._ Ben rubs his neck on my head. _Sleep. We’re safe down here._ He dips his lips to my neck and hisses. _Eeugh—foul!_

I can only groan when a tentacle sucks across my skin to get rid of the scent of Poe. Then I laugh a bit, and I burst out laughing in the next minute. This is absolutely ridiculous. Pure insanity.

Ben growls. _Don’t poke fun!_

 “No—it’s not that.” I sigh, still giggling. I’m a little drunk. “Poe Dameron just tried to rape me and now I’m lying in my basement with an alien cuddling me with his tentacles. Life is bizarre.”

  _…Rape?_ Ben echoes.

 “Having sex with someone when they refuse.”

He ponders it for a moment. _Like when I request mating?_

I roll my eyes. “No, that’s just being a pain in the ass. You have the decency to stop. Not everyone does.”

  _Oh. So, it’s distressing._ Ben draws his tentacle down my collarbone and across a nipple. _Is this rape?_

The hair of my nape stands up. I shiver and shake my head as the slick appendage wanders down. I’m tipsy and upset—I should make him let me sleep alone. But it’s pitch black and I can’t see anything. I can only feel it. Maybe that makes it okay.

Ben traces the hem of my panties with his fingertip, lifting it just enough to let the tip of his tentacle worm through. It’s wet with something that lets it slip through my folds gently, and I can’t help but moan. He kisses the mark on my throat, humming.

  _And this?_ he mumbles.

I cling to the sheets. “Ah—that’s okay.”

The tentacle slithers deeper, bunching in my panties and waiting to push inside my body. Ben clicks softly to me, teasing my entrance with small round strokes and curling closer behind me. He nuzzles my jaw and cocks his elbow to hold my head on his bicep while I squirm and whimper. Feels good. His tentacle writhes and presses on just the right spot.

Another human hand skates up and down my forearm and Ben kisses me gently on the mark. His tentacles keep me in place beside him as the first one worms inside me, tender and careful where Poe wasn’t. My head spins and I part my thighs to make it easier, drawing happy cooing from Ben. This is bizarre. I really need to stop.

It seems to bottom out. I moan as the tentacle switches to rhythmic pulsations, swelling and throbbing, and teases my clit. Ben brushes his fingers through my hair and sighs, lying his cheek on the side of my head to watch his tentacle slurping around in my body. It gently thrusts while pulsing and I wonder if this means I lost my virginity to a tentacle.

Ben cups one of my tits, stroking the nipple with his thumb. _You have breasts now, little one. All grown up._ He shifts his hips behind me and hard warmth presses on my tailbone. _My mate ready to take my seed. Which way shall I give it to you?_

I whine and grope for my panties to get more friction. “Ben, please—”

He sits up, pulling me with him, and leans on a mountain of pillows or blankets. I breathe hard in the darkness as Ben coos and settles me in his lap, right above his warm and very obvious erection. Tentacles wrap around my thighs to hold them apart and coil about my waist to keep me firmly pressed to Ben’s chest. He hooks his chin over my shoulder, trilling in my ear, and brushes my hair back with a sweep of his palm across my forehead. He kisses my temple.

  _All mine._ Ben grasps my hands in his and guides them to the undulating tentacle squirming in my panties and bringing me closer and closer to climax. He presses my palms to the swell. _Do you like this, Rey?_

 “Yes,” I whisper, nodding.

  _Mm. You have pleasurable little ridges inside you._ He sucks on the mark, making me whimper and slacken in his lap. _Warm and wet and tight. See how I move inside you? Do you like it?_

I nod again. He nods, too.

  _Soon you’ll have a belly swollen with my progeny,_ Ben murmurs. _One boy at a time._

More tentacles creep across my body. My arms are pinned to my side and I have to writhe in Ben’d lap and whimper for release, helpless. He purrs to comfort me as the sensations ratchet up, from the sticky suction of the suckers to the weird pleasure of the writhing tentacle. I buck my hips frantically as the pleasure peaks and Ben holds me still with a low hum. He shudders and twists inside me.

Warmth ebbs through my body and I say some very unladylike things while I come. Ben clicks like he’s laughing and hugs me with human arms when I’m coming down, gasping and curling my toes. He litters my cheeks with kisses.

  _My good little one._ He huffs in my ear and I feel him paw at his cock. _I’m—I’m close…_

Ben groans as he masturbates and works the tentacle inside me. I squirm in his lap, panting, pouring some fluid from between my legs, when the flip is switched.

The suckers suddenly adhere with a lewd squelch and I realize the tentacle is now locked inside me. Ben grunts and growls gutturally with pleasure, filling me inside with a thick substance and squirting wet warmth on my belly outside. I squeak in shock as I climax again, bucking my hips hard in his lap.

Ben’s words garble for a straight minute during the peak of his orgasm. He grasps my hips when it’s over and pecks kisses along my cheeks and the side of my head. His heavy panting mixes with happy chirping.

  _My good, sweet mate,_ he croons.

The tentacle isn’t going anywhere. It’s stiff now, at least the part inside me in, and it quivers every few minutes. Ben wriggles into a comfortable position and tugs a blanket over us.

 “Ben,” I croak, boneless, “when does that come out?”

  _Mm? Ah, the knot?_ Unfortunately, he shrugs. _Several minutes to several hours. Don’t fret, little one. I’ll take good care of you. It’s just to make sure my seed isn’t spilt and wasted._ Ben twitters with a laugh. _I didn’t expect to cum from two places at once._

Oh god. I shift uncomfortably at the thought of the tentacle being inside me for hours on end while Ben is on cloud nine running his fingers all over my body. His other tentacles loosen but I’m still impaled on the one like a prize kill.

I swallow hard. It’s okay. It’ll be okay.


	9. Critical Mass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LMAO HOW DO U LIKE THIS PLOT TWIST

The tentacle is still inside me when I wake up beside Ben a few hours later.

I’m understandably not happy about it. I squirm, grunting from the effort of escaping the other _five_  appendages wrapped around me, and Ben growls irately. More blankets and pillows tumble closer thanks to his weird power and he cocoons us in a soft nest that I can’t escape from.

  _Lie still!_ he snaps. _Insemination is not complete!_

 “Get this out of me right now or I’m going to bite you!”

He coos like an angry pigeon and kisses the side of my throat. I feel sharp pricks, like running my fingers across Velcro, and my irritation suddenly disappears. I go slack beside Ben without another word, even though I want to scream. It’s his _tongue._ He’s biting me with his fucked up toothy tongue.

Ben nuzzles under my jaw. _There. Rest, mate. I have plenty of food stockpiled for our breeding attempts._

 “Fuck you,” I slur.

  _You already did._ He warbles like he’s laughing at his stupid joke.

The tentacle slides out in the next five minutes. I’m sore as hell and shudder at the sensation of goop leaking out of me. Ben kisses my temple and withdraws his tentacles with a gross pop. A small bundle flies through the room to his waiting hands and he hums as he opens it.

I moan. “If that’s raw meat, I’m going to rip off one of those tentacles and beat you to death with it.”

  _That’s not very nice._ Ben frowns and closes the bundle, huffing. _Raw meat is best._

 “It’ll also kill me, so.” I shrug limply. “I have to head out anyway. I need to talk to Poe and Kaydel—”

Ben roughly turns me on my back and kneels between my legs, brown eyes shifting to blue. He bares his jutting, enormous teeth and I do the same thing back. The intimidation display fades into a smile and he gurgles with laughter, kissing along my face with normal lips.

  _My fierce Rey. Please rest for a bit? Fertilization is quite difficult—_

 “Ben, I don’t want to have any babies!” I can’t move but I can bitch as much as I want.

He looks at me like I slapped him across the face. I glare up at him until he withdraws with a pathetic look. I’m not falling for it. He’s not as innocent as he pretends to be.

Ben watches sadly as I stand up, swaying, and try to fix my clothes. I stumble through the huge nest of blankets and pillows and pelts and he follows close behind, wringing his hands. A slippery tentacle touches the bare small of my back, and I turn to find him at the foot of the stairs. He worms the tentacle down the back hem of my pants.

  _Come back,_ he pleads in my head. _Please?_

I swat the appendage away, rolling my eyes. “I’ll be back later. I just have to chew Poe out and tell Kaydel her fiancé is a cheating dog.”

Ben wraps another tentacle around me, still wringing his hands. _Please stay. We can be mates and procreate in peace. No humans involved._

I jerk back and snap at him to cut it out. Ben tugs me back down the stairs with the tentacles and cups my cheeks in his hands to kiss me deeply. I push on his bare chest, squealing as one tentacle slithers between my legs. It curls and twists and pushes inside me before I can protest, irritating my already sore body. I swat at Ben’s face and manage to shove him back by his face. The tentacle slurps out of me.

 “NO!” I snap, stumbling up the stairs. “STOP, Ben!”

The tentacles wring together like his huge hands. He blinks at my innocently under his lashes.

  _Consent has been given,_ he states.

 “It’s on a case-by-case basis, asshole! You can’t shove your fucking alien parts in me whenever you want!” I back up the stairs, furious.

  _But… but…_ Ben jerks up a step, frowning. _You’re my mate. I don’t need to ask permission. Poe Dameron didn’t ask permission, and you would have mated with him and perhaps conceived._

I kick at Ben to keep him at bay. “Fuck off!”

  _But—_

My hands fall on the door and I spill out into the hall. Ben’s sad brown eyes watch as I slam the door shut.

Christ. I run upstairs to change and rush out to find Poe and rip him a new orifice. The second the screen door clatters shut, I hear him behind me.

 “Rey?”

I turn. Poe looks groggy and confused, and not at all ready for a punch. I rip the door open and do just that, socking him in the jaw, and he yelps and jerks back. He grabs my wrists before I can punch him again and wrestles me against the kitchen counter. I’m so mad. I try to kick him between the legs.

Poe laughs. “Rey; stop, stop.” His curly black hair is a mess and he leans over to kiss my forehead. “Relax. Want to pick up where we left off last night?”

 “Get away from me!” I hiss. “Ben! BEN!”

 “Ben can’t help you.” Poe jerks me into the counter, lips on my ear. “It’s just us now.”

What’s wrong with him?! I slap Poe hard across the face and scramble away from him, racing outside to his squad car. He follows and hollers for me to stop, but I don’t care. I hop inside and take off for Roswell, panting in fear and confused beyond belief.

Town is quiet. I park outside Poe’s house, where I assume Kaydel is, and hurry inside. It’s a small ranch-style. They’re moving in together after the wedding.

I knock. “Kaydel?! Are you home?!”

 “What’s up, Rey?”

I spin around and see Kaydel at the bottom of the steps, smiling, hands clasped before her. She slowly ascends the stairs to stand before me. Her smile looks… weird. I don’t question it. The day is too bright and sunny to question such oddities.

 “We have to talk,” I admit. “Poe was at the farm last night and—”

 “Oh, Rey.” Kaydel laughs. It doesn’t touch her eyes. “I get it. You two…?” She raises her eyebrows and smiles wider. “Fucked?”

W… what? My spine chills at the word coming from her soft mouth, and Kaydel laughs. She doesn’t have her house key out. She just stands there and keeps laughing and smiling. If I slept with her fiancé, she should be a lot more upset. I smile unsurely and take a step downstairs towards the squad car.

 “No,” I say, “but he tried.”

Kaydel sighs. She’s in a pretty blue sundress. “Oh. Sorry about that. Want to come in for tea?”

 “…Sure.”

She beams and gestures for me to follow her. I watch the door swing inward and glance around before I do so, slipping the car keys in my pocket. Maybe she’s in shock. She’ll be _super_ shocked in another minute.

The house is nice and cool from the windows being open. Kaydel ignores their yapping terrier and wanders around until she leads me into the kitchen. I sit at the white table, surrounded by yellow walls, and watch her bustle around. It seems like she doesn’t know where to look for the tea kettle.

I clear my throat. “Kaydel, Poe really… he really came on to me last night.”

She smiles over her shoulder. “Did he? That’s just how he is. He likes what he likes.” She finds the kettle and fills it with water, back turned to me. “I don’t mind when we takes me how he wants to. Are you against men being men, Rey?”

My spine prickles. I manage to shake my head when she turns to regard me, and she beams. Kaydel boils the water and comes over to sit with me at the table. I stare. Men being men…?

 “He tried to rape me,” I whisper. “You… you know that’s wrong, Kaydel. Right?”

 “Rape? What’s rape?”

Her eyes are wide and curious. I’m horrified. This kitchen feels too bright and cheery for our revolting conversation. I lean back.

 “When you’re forced to have sex,” I say after a beat.

Kaydel frowns. “But that’s what we’re meant for. Who am I to deny a man?”

I stare at her in shock. “You can absolutely say no. I did to your fiancé. He almost… it was close.”

She beams. She’s so happy, like she’s drunk. I laugh nervously as she pats my shoulder.

 “You would’ve had fun, Rey.”

The kettle wails and she perks up, rushing to get it. I shake my head and race out of the kitchen for the formal dining room, intending on rushing back home. But Poe will be there—and Ben. There’s no escape from all these awful people. I stop in the dining room and squeeze my eyes shut  

 “Rey? Tea time!”

Oh god. Terrified, I tear open the basement door and rush downstairs into the musty darkness. I’m not drinking Kaydel’s fucking tea. Will it make me think men are allowed to sexually assault me? What the hell is her problem?! When we met she seemed reasonable, but now?!

The stairs are dusty with age. I cough as I descend, spluttering on the dust, and hope Kaydel didn’t notice. I’ll… hide until she goes away. If she doesn’t, I can take her. I can fight back.

The temperature drops. I rub the back of my neck when it prickles with anxiety, and turn about in the darkness. A strange smell hangs in the air, like rotting meat, but I don’t know why Poe would have that in the basement. Maybe he’s a hunter now? It saves money and time. I creep forward, curious and nervous. What’s down here, anyway?

…It’s nothing. It can’t be something. My steps echo. I shiver. It can’t be something.

 “Rey?”

I perk up to find Poe standing a few feet behind me. He’s smiling widely, head cocked. I take a step back.

 “How did you get here?” I demand in a trembling voice. “What are you doing?!”

He clicks his tongue in a familiar way. “Mm? I followed you. You were so upset when you left… I had to make sure you felt okay.”

I puff up, indignant. “You tried to rape me! Have you done it to Kaydel?! What’s wrong with her?!”

My backpedaling makes me stumble over a wrapped blanket. I yelp in shock as I fall on top of it and feel something squish and crack under my butt. Poe watches me scramble to my feet and nudge the bundle with the tip of my shoe. The reek of rotting meat is strong here. Dead deer?

Poe begins wringing his hands. “Not rape—test. I tested you, Rey.”

I stare at him. “Test?”

 “Yes—Yes. Just to… just to see.” Poe smiles again, too wide. “Surely you know I’ve no interest in harming you?”

Flies buzz away from the blanket. Panting in fear, I crouch to the dirty cement floor and peel them back to reveal what lies underneath.

Two half-rotted human bodies lie together, eye sockets eroding to the bone. White maggots chew away at the cheeks and I almost vomit at the smell of death and decay that emerges from within. Their skulls still have tufts of black and brown hair.

I know exactly who I’m looking at. I see his badge. They’ve both been dead for weeks. I can see ooze leaking from the rotting bone I crushed.

Slowly, I raise my eyes to the creature standing a couple feet off. Poe keeps smiling until his gums tear.

 “Why would you do this?” I choke.

Fangs erupt. His brown eyes turn blue.

  _It’s all for you, Rey. It’s all for you._


	10. Fermi Paradox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i confused y'all so.......  
> also someone people thought poe and ben were in the same room next chapter WITH kaydel--i phrased it poorly--rey means that poe and ben are waiting for her at the farm if she goes back. i changed it a bit to hopefully make that clearer
> 
> ~*~*~*~*~ALSO T E N T A C L E S T U F F  
> DUBCON tbh this is NONCON to some people~*~*~*~*~
> 
> this story is taking a very dark turn
> 
> ADDED NONCON TAG.

Poe Dameron is dead and rotting two feet away from me beside Kaydel Connix, but I’m staring at him standing in the darkness, too. I can hear Ben’s voice in my head—I don’t know what’s going on. Who did this? Who is impersonating Poe and Kaydel?

I snatch a cracked two-by-four off the dusty floor, trembling. “Who are you? Did you hurt Ben, too?!”

He laughs, deep and human, through vocal cords. His blue eyes swirl with something deep and maybe evil that I have no hope of understanding. Maybe it’s a virus from space. Maybe this whole thing has been a lie, from Kes to Poe to Ben. I’m terrified to find out.

The body snaps and violently shapeshifts into Ben, black hair in a neat top knot, fully clothed like he said he couldn’t be when he transformed. His fangs stay out, a jutting mess like the inside of a seal’s mouth, and he lets all four tentacles drape lazily from his sides. I stare in terror as he sighs, ripping the wood from my hands with a flick of the wrist.

 “Do you have any idea how vast the cosmos are, Rey?” Ben asks, deep voice coming through his mouth instead of my head. He covers the corpses with another casual motion.

I stumble away from the body bag and frantically search for another weapon. Ben watches me like he’s bored. I feel like I’m about to pass out.

 “Get away from me!” I scream, unsure of what else to do. “I mean it, Ben!”

 “My name is Kylo—though I do appreciate the nickname.” He doesn’t move a hand, but the floor ripples under my feet. “I can’t use the Force directly on _you_ , but I can will the matter around you. Come here. We have so much to discuss.”

The cement wavers and trips me on my hands and knees. Kylo smiles as I’m dragged across the room to him, panting in fear, and he curls the tentacles under my shirt and around my ribs. I’m pulled to my feet and restrained to his hard hips by two of the tentacles, while his fingers tenderly brush the hair from my face. I squirm as a tentacle wraps around my wrists to restrain them, and the fourth wanders to the small of my back. I can’t move an inch as it worms down the hem of my pants.

He cups my cheeks, riveting me with his blue eyes, and I’m utterly lost in them. My lips part and I don’t react to the tentacle pulsing it’s way inside my body, slick with something that makes my skin prickle. Kylo smiles and strokes under my eyes with his thumbs.

 “I don’t need your permission,” he murmurs. The tentacle corkscrews inside me like it’s illustrating his point. “I’m a parasite—I’m designed to bypass your defenses and reproduce by whatever means necessary.”

Kylo’s thick tongue lined with holes unfurls from his mouth, splitting into three serrated petals like a fleshy flower. The tiny teeth drip white fluid.

  _Through the bloodstream._ He tightens the tentacles around my waist, grinding his cock against my stomach. _Through your womb._ Inside me, the tentacle squirms. _Or in some new, exciting way._

I stare up at him, unable to react. He withdraws his tongue and continues smiling like nothing is out of the ordinary.

 “But we do technically have a counterpart gender,” Kylo continues, switching seamlessly to his human voice. “Balance in the universe, I suppose. Our females try to kill us whenever we cross paths, and they often succeed—but once in a great while, the universe tilts, and wondrous things happen.”

He searches my face, brushing my skin reverently with his thumbs. “Like you, Rey. You’re a wondrous thing, and you’re mine.”

Nothing he’s saying makes any goddamn sense. The tentacle keeps moving and Kylo’s blue eyes flicker back from pleasure, giving away that he’s enjoying what he’s doing to me. I’m freed from his gaze for that split second and squeeze my eyes shut.

 “What did you do to Poe and Kaydel?!” I demand. “What… what the hell are you doing to _me?!_ ”

  _They were going to alert the authorities and jeopardize all of this. Poe wasn’t even aware of being inhuman, and was weakened by Earth’s thin atmosphere. Like you are._ Kylo kisses my forehead with very human lips. _Open your eyes._

“I’m not opening my fucking eyes!”

He pries my eyes open and I’m caught in the swirl of blue. “We’re designed for each other—but you’ve lost some traits from being raised on Earth, and our fatal incompatibilities don’t stand in the way. I realized this shortly after meeting you, and knew I’d need to leave a mark until you were old enough to breed. My body reacted all the same as it always does near females of our species.”

Kylo trails off into quiet for a bit, resting his forehead on mine and gazing into my eyes. He coos to me like usual, clicking his tongue, and I feel the tentacle pulse inside me. His breath catches and it stiffens and hooks into my wet flesh, locking in place. Kylo groans and takes a sharp breath through his teeth.

I shift slightly, but otherwise don’t move. Thick fluid pulses out of the tentacle and drools around it, oozing out of my body into my panties. Kylo kisses me hard and frees me from his gaze again. I stamp my feet furiously and bite his lower lip, making him jerk back like he’s surprised I’m pissed off.

 “Get off me!” I hiss. “I’m not one of you!”

He licks the blood off his lip. “Yes, you are. Why do you think I can’t use the Force on you?” His eyes flicker back to brown. “Our species cannot forge mating bonds—yet you’re my mate, and I’m bound inside you right now. I found you by a stroke of fate. We’re meant to be together, Rey.”

I snap at his hands, terrified and angry. “Then why are you doing this?! You’re hurting me!”

The tentacle throbs and I scream when more ejaculate pushes out of me. Kylo shushes me and kisses my temple, stroking my back with one of the tentacles around my waist. He’s still cupping my face in his huge hands.

 “It only hurts if you overthink your purpose,” he mumbles into my hair. “I’ve been very patient with you, but I need to make use of the precious thing I found. I tried to guide you back to me—gently.”

Guide me back? I grunt and tug on the tentacle curled around my wrists, thinking back over the past decade or so since I met Kylo. How did he try to guide me back? There’s no way…

My heart drops. Oh. God.

College gave me a lot of problems, mostly because a certain male professor endlessly berated me. But so did my advisor, and my roommate. I stare at Kylo with growing horror. He wasn’t even hiding in the basement waiting for me. He’s been pulling strings the whole time, lurking around waiting until I was ripened on the vine.

  _You needed to be twenty._ Kylo smiles, baring his fangs. _I knew you’d jump at the chance to inherit the farm from Plutt._

 “You killed him, too?” I choke.

  _Of course. Not that I hadn’t been planning on it for some time… I enjoyed ripping him apart._

I fight back tears. I’m so confused—I just want to get away from him. Kylo kisses along my face, purring like he used to, and I curl my toes on the floor.

 “But… you were in the same room as Poe,” I falter. “About a month ago, before we stared fixing up the farm. How…?”

 “Kes’s progeny has only been dead for two weeks. I didn’t like him pointing a gun in my face.” Kylo kisses down my throat, sighing. “But I gave him the benefit of the doubt, until he decided to cooperate with Hux and Phasma. Then he became a threat to our kind—and I killed him. Kes understands.”

  “Oh god.” I shake my head, bursting into sobs. “Oh _god._ Were you Kaydel? Upstairs?”

Kylo nods under my jaw. _Yes, I was. I tried my best to take you gently, Rey. I was very patient, waiting for you to age when I could have used you for pleasure if I wanted to. I watched you develop and grow, and you’ve been physically appealing for a few years. But I let you enjoy your little human life._

I can’t believe this is the same warbling, nervous alien I found in the cornfield thirteen years ago. I can’t believe how deep he’s sunk his claws into my life. My ears ring as Kylo snaps his toothy tongue on my throat and I go limp. The tiny fangs sink in like needles and I _feel_ fluid gush under my skin just before I pass out.

—————

 “You’re not bright, Miss Kenobi—are you?”

Professor Alder watches me from behind his desk, toying with a pen. I’m sitting in front of him in a chair with tears running down my face. Another test failed, and I studied _so hard._ I’m not going back to Unkar and Roswell. I need to be something else.

I swallow hard. “Sir, I—”

 “What more can I expect from a hillbilly orphan?” He drawls, sighing. “Poor little thing. You never stood a chance.”

He’s a middle-aged man with blue eyes and graying hair. He smiles and beckons for me to approach, slowly turning his chair away from the desk to face the wall. Trembling, I stand up and walk over to stand in front of him. His eyes are bright blue.

I know what he wants. My landlord asked so I could keep my place, and my advisor asked so I could get in the honors program. But I block it all out. I’ve no other options. I have no one to help me. They all have blue eyes, and when I close mine I think of it.

My professor leans back in his chair and smiles as he watches me unbuckle his belt. “Why do you even bother, Rey?”

The door is locked when I’m done, wiping my mouth and touching a quivering hand to his office door handle. It’s locked. I never locked it.

—————

 “Rey? Honey?”

My horrible, repressed memories fade as I come to in an unfamiliar bed. I blink and stretch and see Leia sitting beside the bed in a chair, her hazel eyes misty and sad. She brushes my hair from my forehead. I’m sore from my second encounter with Kylo’s tentacle.

I swallow, rasping. “Where is he?”

 “Downstairs.” Leia covers her mouth and tears stream down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry. I never knew… I had a child out of wedlock years ago and his father took him after the birth. I didn’t know—”

 “Is this the girl?”

A gruff, gray-haired man enters the bedroom, dressed in brown slacks and a vest. I immediately see Kylo’s nose in his face and Kylo’s jaw is just like Leia’s. My stomach turns as the stranger approaches.

Leia wipes her cheeks. “Yes, this is Rey. Rey, this is Han, Kylo’s… father. And I’m…” She trails off, lip quivering. “I’m his mother.”

Han studies me like I’m an interesting piece in a museum. I stare at him with mixed revulsion and shock, tugging my blankets up to my chin. He’s an alien, too. He came to Earth and took advantage of Leia and used her as an incubator—then his son came back and prowled in the same spot. Did he do it deliberately because his father had success?

Leia never mentioned a son before. Having children out of wedlock is a serious social faux pas and a point of embarrassment for a family. Han rubs Leia’s back when she cries and I keep staring at him. They really are parasites.

Kylo enters the room in the next minute with Kes flanking him. I remember their weird exchange when Kylo first landed and wonder if it was Kylo establishing who I belonged to. I keep gawking at the group of aliens, mystified.

 “You’ll all gone before Hux and Phasma return,” Kes says. “Anakin is bringing about the ship now.” His throat bobs. “Shara and I are staying here. She needs to mourn Poe’s death.”

 “It had to be done,” Han replies. “You’ll sire another, Dameron.”

Kes nods and Kylo pats his back. He doesn’t seem super torn up about his son’s death. Han helps Leia to her feet, who’s still crying, and they all leave the room. I’m alone with Kylo. He’s in a plaid red shirt and dark pants. He could almost pass for a real Midwesterner.

He smiles. “How did you sleep, Rey?”

I don’t respond. I keep staring, hyperaware of the throbbing pain inside me, and terrified beyond comprehension. Kylo raises his eyebrows and scratches his jaw. He sits on the bed beside me, making me jerk back nervously. I’m naked under the sheets.

 “You’re going to come with me,” he says offhandedly. “We have a duty to our kind to reproduce as much as possible. Not that I mind.”

 “I’m not giving you anything,” I hiss.

Kylo smiles. “We’ll see.”


	11. Constellations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this sure took FOREVER

Of all the things I’ve seen so far in my life, a spaceship in Leia’s backyard is by far the strangest.

It’s low to the ground and round with two sharp projections from the front that look like they might be guns. It might be made out of steel but I can’t tell for sure. I stare at the weird ridges and lights on the perimeter of the spaceship, now dressed in a flimsy white gown and nothing else, and suddenly feel overwhelmed. This is really happening.

Kylo stands beside me dressed entirely in black, all the way down to gloves and a cape. His hair is drawn in a half-ponytail so some hangs in a curtain over his protruding ears, and he wears a looped silver chain that drapes low across his broad chest. Leia wears similar clothes in gray with her hair twisted into intricate braids and woven through with silver thread. Her shock seems to have worn off—she’s arguing with Han, back to her spitfire self.

 “Dress Rey appropriately!” she snaps. “She isn’t your virgin sacrifice!”

My bare toes curl in the dirt. I’ve had Kylo’s… _tentacle_ in me, so I’m not sure if I’m even a virgin anymore. I’m still too shell-shocked to say much so I just stand there in silence with my hands clasped before me. I feel small standing around with the bickering family.

Han snorts. He’s in a long-sleeved shirt with a vest and brown pants, toting around a strange gun and nod in fancy clothes like the other two.

 “It’s not our concern, sweetheart,” he says with a sarcastic inflection on the pet name.

 “I’ve known Rey since she was a little girl,” Leia continues, as if she hadn’t heard Han. “You’re not treating her this way.” She turns on her son, hands on her hips. “I insist.”

Kylo touches the small of my back, hesitant, then slips his arm around my waist and drags me flush to his side. His cape flutters around me, heavy and warm from his body heat with the faint smell of fire. I grunt at the unwelcome movement.

 “She’s dressed appropriately for her role,” he says tersely to Leia.

 “Your mother insists.” Han’s indifference does a one-eighty. He shoots his soon a dirty look. “Do you need a reminder of the respect we’re expected to give our birth mothers, Kylo?”

Kylo tightens his grip on my hip. “Rey is _my_ mate.”

 “I don’t care,” Han replies with a shrug. “Get it done. Your _mother_ insists.”

The two have a tense stand-off for a minute before I’m dragged toward the ship. Han turns to hug Leia and she buries her face in his chest.

Kylo tugs me up a ramp by my hand and I look around at the curving cream walls in wonder. Metal grates rattle under our feet, biting my bare soles, and he leads me down them to an imposing steel door. It hisses open into the ceiling, drawing my shocked expression away from the strange walls.

This room is small with shelves sunken into the walls and two closets. Before either of us can say a word, someone knocks on the door and attracts our attention. Kylo mutters and unclips his cape to drape it over my shoulders, which he spends a solid thirty seconds adjusting to his liking. I swat his hands away with a scowl. The cape spills to the floor and conceals my entire body from shoulders to toes.

I’m not sure what to call the outfit he’s wearing underneath. His boots have a series of buckles and clasps, with regular black slacks tucked into them, but he’s wearing a vest over sleeves with horizontal markings in the fabric. It could be armor, but the material seems to soft for that.

Kylo yanks open the door. A… something stands there with her hands clasped in front of her.

Instead of hair, two long rabbit ear appendages hang down from her head, sweeping gracefully at the back of her thighs. Blue skin contrasts her brown shorts and belly shirt, all wrapped around a tall, graceful body. Her wide, green eyes regard Kylo hopefully and she smiles, shifting her weight to one hip. Her brown boots scuff the floor, tight to her calf. A black choker wraps around her slim throat.

 “Hi, Kylo,” she says with a beguiling smile. “Your grandfather said you had a new pet. Shall I dress it up for you?”

 “You’re mistaken, Oola. Rey is my mate.” He leans closer, looming over the strange woman. “And she is to be respected. Do you understand?” She nods and he leans back. “Good. Leave us be. I’ll dress her myself.”

Oola tries to say something else but Kylo slams the door shut in her face.

He turns to the closet and picks through a row of multicolored dresses before he settles on (surprise surprise) a black one. It has three-quarter sleeves and netting over the chest—nothing like I’ve seen before. I scowl at Kylo and drop his cape on the floor, then fold my arms over my chest.

 “I am _not_ wearing that,” I snap.

 “You _are_ wearing it,” he retorts. He draws back and buzzes like he always does when he’s annoyed. “Do as you’re told, Rey.”

 “I’ve never been good at that.”

He growls and takes a step toward me. “Don’t I know it. Now put the dress on.”

 “No!”

Kylo drapes it over his shoulder and seizes the front of the slip I’m wearing, easily rending it down the front. He rolls his eyes when I spit like an angry cat and pulls the dress through my arms to zip it in the back. The fabric rolls and adjusts to my frame like it’s made out of water.

I glower at my ‘mate’ when he circles back in front of me. The cape flies to his back from the floor and clips on his shoulders while he cups my face with his hands. I growl and snap at his wrist and he decides to grab my jaw in one big hand. He yanks me toward him and raises his eyebrows.

 “Still so fierce,” he murmurs. He waggles my head from side to side, smiling. “I’ll tire you out tonight, little one. I know how much you like my tentacles.”

 “Phuck yoo!” I slur through my pursed lips.

 “You will later.” He frowns. “Always leave me open for that joke.”

Kylo returns to the closet for a hairbrush and black shoes with no heel. He hands me the brush and tosses the shoes at my feet, then stands a few feet away with his arms folded to watch me. I run the brush through my hair once and step into my shoes. We assume the same position.

He summons the brush to his hand and lashes out with an arm transformed into a tentacle to grab my wrist. It squelches on my skin and drags me to the alien, then curls around my waist to hold me against him. Kylo smiles and makes a show of brushing my hair while I grunt and squirm. My arms are pinned to my sides and all I can do is wiggle my wrists.

He nuzzles the side of my head, humming. “That feels good.” His tongue licks up the shell of my ear and he squeezes my ass with a gloved hand. “Are you interested in my cock now?”

 “What happened to me being a precious commodity?!” I spit.

 “You still are.” He sloppily kisses the side of my throat, lips worming across my skin like he’s genuinely going to eat me. I feel him getting hard on my stomach and redden. _But now you’re_ my _valuable commodity—and I fully intend on using every inch of you._

The door slides open. “Lord Ren, your grandfather—”

Kylo whirls around and curves his fingers into a trembling semicircle that instantly chokes the intruder. He holds me firm to his side with the tentacle and glares at the man in a plain gray uniform, who is now floating a foot above the floor. I stare in shock.

 “It’s impolite to barge into a room, captain,” Kylo says icily, “especially when your superior officer is with his _mate._ ” He throws the man out of the room into the wall and barks orders. “Tell my grandfather we’re en route.”

The captain scurries off down the hall. Kylo growls after him as the door closes and goes back to kissing my neck with more fervor than before. His lips wander to the bite mark and I take a sharp breath when he rolls it through his blunt teeth. My neck tingles and the sensation carries down the entire left side of my body, making me squirm. Fuck him—fuck this!

The tentacle withdraws and he cups my face in both hands again, following me when I stumble back. I grab his wrists and glare up into his dark eyes. This is Ben, who fed me when Unkar wouldn’t, and listened to me ramble late at night, and fretted over my hair. He also inserted himself into every facet of my existence and forced me to do awful things to keep up a life that _he created._

It makes me want to cry all over again. The depth of manipulation and evil he’s shown is hard to swallow. It doesn’t feel real.

Kylo backs me into the wall and kisses me with a very human tongue. He cups my face at first, sloppy like he was on my neck, then his hands wander down my waist to my hips in a hungry flurry. He pushes up the dress over my thighs, ignoring me pawing at his hands, and slips two gloved fingers down the front of my panties.

My breath hitches. I shift around against the wall and Kylo breaks our kiss to nibble at my throat instead. We’re both quiet, just panting and moving fabric where it needs to go. His fingers curl deeper to gather wetness from my entrance and they wrap back up, smearing it through my folds.

He purrs on the corner of my parted lips. “You’re so soft.” His fingers find my clit and he raises his head to watch the confusion flit across my face. “I know—it feels good, doesn’t it?”

I squeeze my eyes shut as he strokes around the spot, bringing me close to climax but not quite there. Fuck, I hate him. He keeps it up for a couple minutes, watching me biting my lip to keep from moaning and giving him satisfaction. Tension builds and I finally cry out when Kylo pushes two fingers inside me with no warning, squirming from the weird sensation of the leather.

 “—Dick!” I spit.

 “Is that an insult or a request?” He strokes forward along my inner wall and smirks at my weak moan. “It’s so hard to tell with you. But if it’s a _request…_ ”

Kylo shoves me into the wall with his shoulder to keep me pinned and fumbles with his pants. He catches my mouth in another kiss and I bite his tongue just hard enough to taste blood. It draws a laugh from him and he yanks back on my hair to smile down at me, still moving his fingers.

 “You liked this in the basement,” he murmurs. He withdraws his hand and casually sucks on the two leather fingers coated with my essence. He tugs off the glove and half his arm transforms into a writhing tentacle. “Would you prefer this?”

Someone pounds on the door. “What’s taking so damn long, Kylo?!”

It’s Han. Kylo hisses like he used to and his arm morphs back, quickly gloved again. I fix my dress, still pulsing with excitement, and try to contain my hair just before Han steps into the room.

He glances at me, then back to his son. “Quit fuckin’ around. Anakin’s waiting in the cockpit and he wants to meet Rey.” Han points at Kylo and narrows his eyes. “Don’t be a jackass.”

 “Excellent—thanks,” Kylo snaps.

Han waves him off and leaves. Kylo peels off his gloves and throws them into a drawer using the Force, then pulls out another. They slip over his hands and he beckons me to follow him.

I don’t really have another choice. Frazzled, I click after him in my black shoes into the circular hallway. He takes my hand, threading his thick fingers through mine, and stands up a bit straighter like he’s nervous. We clack along the crates and pass some more guys in gray uniforms who do an odd clap over the chest when they see him. They stare at me like I’m in a zoo.

I’m not sure what to expect. Is this Anakin guy a big deal? Most evil alien ever? Apparently he doesn’t like to be kept waiting.

We come up to a large doorframe where Han is chatting with a man who has his back turned to us. An array panel lights up the inside—it’s the cockpit, which I have no chance of piloting to escape. Han’s gaze flickers to Kylo and me and he touches the man’s arm.

Kylo does the weird salute. “Grandfather, this is my mate, Rey. Rey, this is my grandfather, Anakin.”

Anakin turns, garbed in black and brown and a long black cape like Kylo’s. His hair is a bit shorter and brown, but the same texture as his grandson’s. I’m taken aback not only by how attractive and pleasant he looks but also by how _young_ he is. He looks like he might be younger than Kylo somehow. Then I remember I’m dealing with shapeshifting parasitic aliens who can change their appearance at will. Maybe he’s vain.

Anakin smiles and nods politely to me. “Rey… what a charming name. It’s nice to meet you. After Padme left, I thought we’d lost a great opportunity—until Kylo found you hiding out on Earth.” He cocks his head, brown eyes flickering to his grandson’s. “Padme already picked up Luke. We’re lucky to have Leia on board.”

 “I thought Luke was a non-issue,” Kylo says, gripping my hand a bit tighter.

 “Now he’s with those harpies, which means they can create more purebreds.” Anakin crosses his arms, shrugging. “Hopefully your mate will fall pregnant first.”

Kylo nods once. “She will.”

Anakin turns to the control panel and flips a few switches, speaking to us over his shoulder. “These things take time. It took Padme and I some time to conceive Luke and Leia—foiled by her hiding them from me on Earth.” He looks out the window as the ship whirs to life and his shoulders slump. “At least I have Leia back.”

 “I’ll retrieve Luke as well,” Kylo blurts.

I raise an eyebrow. Clearly he wants this guy’s approval.

Han snorts. “Good luck. Padme isn’t going to let you waltz in and take him. She probably hates you as much as me for ‘tainting’ Leia.”

Anakin sits heavily in a chair and continues clicking on the array. “You have more important concerns, Kylo. I recommend that you keep your mate close by—or she may slip away from you like mine did.”

 “Yes, grandfather.” Kylo inclines his head and yanks me closer to his side. “I will.”

We leave the cockpit and the door slides shut behind us with an ominous groan.


	12. Light Speed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is concluding for my pal raven  
> sorry if it sucks
> 
> BUT 
> 
> S Y Z Y G Y has soft alien ben!!!!

The nightmare ends.

Gasping, I fly up in bed, pregnant belly rolling in distress. Oh—god. What a horrendous nightmare. My husband, an evil alien?! I grimace at the thought of it and rub my swollen stomach, heavy with our twins. Impossible.

Ben jerks up beside me. _Rey?!_ He brushes my hair back, settling a big hand on our shifting babies. _What’s wrong? What’s happening?_

 “N-nothing,” I huff. “Nightmare.” I nuzzle into his palm, sighing. “I’m okay. Do you ever have those long, vivid nightmares?”

He nods and kisses my temple. _You’re okay. Do you want a glass of water?_

I hate relying on him for such simple things, but I’m seriously heavy with our babies. I nod and he hops out of bed within two seconds to stride downstairs to our kitchen. Our farmhouse is quiet, save for the chirping of crickets outside.

His thoughts reverberate in my mind while I wait for him to come back. I’m used to it. Usually he thinks about how happy he is to have me, and how excited he is for the babies. I try not to pry.

Ben returns with a cold glass of water. I thank him and guzzle it back while he strokes my hair. He nibbles at my neck, humming like always. Our bed is still warm with body heat and he draws the soft sheets over my stomach. He’s a little obsessed ever since I took the pregnancy test.

A tentacle—a birth defect—slithers around my waist. _Better, my love?_

I cast a smile his way and stroke the slimy appendage. “Much better. Put that away, Benjamin. I’m way too pregnant.”

It’s not something we share with friends. I like them. Sometimes Ben worms one inside me, or over my nipples, or down my throat. All of that is so sensitive that I can’t stand it right now.

My husband mumbles a complaint. _Hmph. When do our babies come?_

“Luke and Anakin will be here in two weeks.” I set down my glass and raise an eyebrow. “You know that, Ben.”

He runs a hand through his black hair and mutters as we settle back into bed. Whiner.

The next morning, I’m alone in bed. Ben is already off to work outside Roswell and I’m left to tend to the livestock and the babies swelling in my tummy. I huff as I slip out of our warm bed to the cold wooden floor. Oof. I’m huge.

I manage to dress in a gown and comfy shoes. I need a few things from Finn’s store in town, and I want to ask Sheriff Dameron about the string of robberies. Ben can protect me. He’s best friends with Finn and Poe, too. But… pregnancy has awakened some paranoia in me.

Our framed pictures hang along the wall down our stairs. I beam and stroke my fingers on the one from our wedding, admiring Ben’s wide smile. I love him. I feel like I’ve known him for a lifetime.

I waddle to our truck and hop in, hissing when the boys roll in my belly. Goofs.

Dust scatters behind the truck as I drive into Roswell and I smell the cigarettes I told Ben to quit. I chuck his new pack out the window into the forest, scowling. He’s a jerk sometimes.

The tires crackle along loose rocks as I pull into Roswell and park near Poe Dameron’s police station. He’s out on patrol.

I wave at passerby and the big, wide smiles I’ve become accustomed to. They wave back and don’t look away. When I walk into Finn’s general store, he and Rose bars their teeth in silent, friendly grins. I collect my groceries and walk back through the quiet town. Always quiet.

 “Have a nice day, Rey.”

At the truck, I turn to see Finn and Rose standing on the porch of their store. Both wave, still beaming. I smile and wave back.

It’s a quiet drive home. I eat a few grapes along the way and wave to people on the side of the road. They’re always standing in the same spot. Not much changes around here. It’s nice.

Ben is on the porch when I get home. He helps me with the bags, chattering away in my head about his day, and I feel a flicker of confusion. He hasn’t been gone very long. It’s weird that he’s already done with work for the day.

My husband puts away the groceries and I go upstairs to shower and nap. I gaze at the black tentacles writhing around him on my way, and shiver with excitement. One of them impregnated me in the first place.

He joins me when I’m clean in bed. I lie on my side, rubbing my stomach as he slips under the covers. Ben coos, kissing my neck.

 “How was work?” I murmur.

  _Good. Boring._ He places a big hand over mine. _I’ve missed all three of you._

A tentacle curls over my swollen belly and I laugh at the sensation. I won’t turn him away—he’s been patient and sweet the past few months.

Ben cups one of my breasts and dips a tentacle between my thighs. He crooks an arm under my head to brush my hair back and hums when I whimper. I like the sensation of his tentacle over my hip, worming inside me. It squirms and squelches up the narrow passage of my cunt, disturbing our sons.

 “Ben,” I laugh, “the boys?”

  _What about them?_

My protest is lost in a moan. Ben suckles on my neck, stroking my stomach with a broad hand and burying the tentacle deeper inside me. I feel his pleasure about owning me. I belong to him.

  _It’s all for you, Rey. It’s all for you._

I frown, then remember in an agonizing rush.


	13. Syzygy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeyyyyy it's over thank u for reading

Oh god— _oh god._

Kylo is buried inside me, fucking me from behind, and I remember every single thing he’s done to me. I gape at the dark wall in our bedroom while he huffs and grunts his way to orgasm. He’s switched from the tentacle, now cock-deep and jostling the two babies in my womb.

Ben; he’s not Ben. He’s Kylo. He’s a beast. I swallow hard and listen to his moans of pleasure echoing in my head with each aggressive thrust.

  _My good girl. My mate._

I’m not used to these babies or him. I just remember him dragging me back to our room on the ship before I passed out for the night.

But my body feels off—something isn’t right—and I have a feeling these aren’t my first babies.

Kylo growls as he cums inside me, cock pulsing, and I splutter when a tentacle jams down my throat. It flutters. He’s testing me, depositing semen right into my stomach. Tears bead in my eyes but I know I can’t cry or refuse.

  _So good for me,_ he coos.

I choke as he draws the tentacle free. He kisses my temple, beaming, and leaves the bed for the bathroom. Why am I here? What the fuck happened between now and the _Falcon_?

He comes back with sweatpants on and offers me an unsettling smile. I try to smile back as he cups my cheek and strokes my skin with his thumb.

  _You look pale. Feeling okay, my love?_

I stare and Kylo stares back. I know he knows. My heart pounds and I fight back tears. _He knows._

“Fine!” I blurt. “I’m fine.” I fake a smile. “I love the throat… tentacle.”

His smile widens. _I know you do._

Kylo passes out beside me before I decide to attempt an escape. I swallow hard, terrified of what he might do, then decide to slip out of bed and go for it.

My feet slap down the stairs to the first floor and I swipe our car keys. I take off down the dark road heading out of Roswell, looking for anything other than what’s here. I need to know there’s somewhere else to go. I can’t stay here and be his slave for the rest of my life.

As I come out past the thicket of trees, I see a line of people blocking the road. I squint and slow to a stop when I see familiar faces: Poe, Kaydel, Finn, and Rose. There are others, too—just standing there. Staring at me through the darkness. Smiling.

I lean out the window and wave. “What are you guys doing here?”

They don’t reply. I hesitantly draw back inside the truck and wince when the babies roll in my stomach. I can’t run my friends over. What if they’re being brainwashed?

It’s stupid, but I slip out of the car with a pistol from the glovebox. I adjust my shirt around my swollen belly and keep the engine running. Dust scatters around my feet with each step towards the eerie blank smiles blocking the road.

Moonlight dances through the wind-blown canopy lining the road. I wave, but cock the pistol just in case something isn’t right—and I have a gut feeling that something isn’t right.

Poe extends a hand, baring his teeth in a white smile. “Where are you going, Rey?”

Finn stretches out a hand, then Rose, then Kaydel. They all follow suit in silence, still smiling. I hesitate. The gun rattles in my grasp.

 “I’m… going out of town,” I falter.

 “Why?” Finn asks. He blinks once, far too slow. “This is all you need.”

He starts toward me. I backtrack, hurrying for the truck, but Finn moves inhumanly fast and keeps grinning on his approach. I scream at him to stay away from me but he gets close enough that I can see the whites of his eyes and—

A gunshot rings out before I know I’ve shot it. The bullet hisses through Finn’s shoulder without a spray of blood or any wince of pain. He keeps waking and I discharge another shot closer to the center, still shrieking for him to stop.

My fingers fall along the edge of the truck and I manage to hoist myself in. I shift into first gear and roar right through the line of people without a second thought, though I squeeze my eyes shut. All I hear is the splitting and cracking of metal.

I glance over my shoulder. Poe got the brunt of the truck, but he’s _getting up._ His eyes glow red.

 “Oh my god,” I whisper, turning back to the road. I burst into tears and lean over the steering wheel. “What the fuck is _happening?!_ ”

But the truck suddenly gives out as I go further into the darkness, and I’m forced to get out. Terrified, I clutch my stomach and turn in circles with the pistol, edging deeper into utter blackness, until the only sound is my heavy breathing.

I choke on a sob. “I—I don’t know—”

  _Oh, Rey… Where do you think you’re going?_

Kylo appears behind me, dressed up in his black robes from the _Falcon_. He tilts his head and waves his hand, throwing the pistol from my hand and into the shadows. I cry and back away from him as he casually approaches with a low sigh.

 “There’s nowhere else to go, little one.” He gestures into the darkness. “Your reality ends here.”

 “Get—Get away from me!” I scream.

His tentacles writhe free of his shirt. “All this stress isn’t good for the babies. You should know that after birthing five of them.” He raises his eyebrows, smiling fiendishly. “But I suppose you’re forgetting more easily than you used to.”

All I can remember is meeting Anakin and falling asleep on the _Falcon._ My gaze flickers down to the squirming babies in my body and I scream again. How have I given birth without knowing it?! How is this happening to me?!

Kylo shushes me, extending his tentacles toward me. “Hush, little one. Hush.” They curl around my wrists and give a gentle pull. He smiles. “Third time’s the charm with you.”

The dark closes in on me, heavy and suffocating, and the last thing I see is two glowing blue eyes.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Malfeasance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17233529) by [MalevolentReverie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalevolentReverie/pseuds/MalevolentReverie)
  * [My Love From Another World](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16672555) by [LadyErica](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyErica/pseuds/LadyErica)




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